Eerie Romance
by Cakedecorator
Summary: Marinette is a princess who actively helps her people. But her jealous sisters try to get rid of her by sending her into the border woods at night, hoping the rumored forest monster will kill her. Instead, Marinette ends up hurting her foot and getting lost. She then wakes to meet a kind, teal-eyed prince who helps her in her recovery. Rated T, Season 2 Spoilers, Lukanette.
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Early Halloween, Miraculers! I'm sure you've heard this one before: Marinette is the youngest princess in a kingdom where her wicked sisters, Chloé and Lila, are jealous of how Marinette attracts more attention than the two of them combined. Thus, they try to get rid of her.**

 **After she suffers some pain caused by her sisters, she meets Adrien, the two of them fall in love, happily ever after... Well, here's my take on it, but I'm twisting it around so that way it's not** ** _Adrien_** **Marinette meets... That's right, this is the classic fairytale setup with Lukanette! And a few more spooky surprises, too, courtesy of Halloween coming up.**

 **Now, I should warn you ahead of time that supernatural isn't really my genre, so this story is only going up on a trial basis. If I don't do as good as you hope, PLEASE don't hold it against me. I'm a little out of my depth here.**

* * *

 _Legend has it that in the vast border forest between the kingdoms of Fortune and Lumiére hides a ferocious creature that only comes out at night. If one is unlucky enough to encounter it and anger the being, they would arguably never get away without a scratch. But there were also some people who saw the creature and claim that it would sing or make music soothing enough to lull trespassers into sleep and then the beast would kick them out of the woods. And all these people who were unharmed lived to tell the tale, and even then their memory would be so fuzzy that they could not accurately describe the being._

 _But we're in the wrong setting here. Let me start over and tell you where this story really begins._

 _Once upon a time, in a prosperous and lovely kingdom known as Fortune, there was a king and queen. King Tom, a large man with a mustache and sideburns in brown with green eyes, was married to the beautiful Sabine, a petite woman with grey eyes and dark black hair, who loved her husband very much._

 _The royals were blessed with three daughters._

 _The eldest, Chloé, was a girl with icy blue eyes and hair like the sun, who wore yellow and a lot of makeup and fancy jewelry just to show off and get attention. She was cordial enough around her parents, but behind closed doors, she was one of the nastiest girls one could meet. Spoiled rotten, unreasonable, superficial - name a negative trait, and she was likely to have it._

 _Then there was the middle daughter, Sabrina. She was a redhead with green eyes and glasses, who wore mainly purple and green. Often times, she was a sidekick or servant to Chloé, despite being a princess herself. There were times where Sabrina could be just as bad and cruel as Chloé, but when she was left to her own devices, she was nice enough to others._

 _Finally, the youngest was Marinette. When she was born, her parents swore that the gods blessed the little girl to truly be the most beautiful creature in the world. Marinette had blue eyes much like Chloé, but hers were a warm blue that could be compared to the sky on a clear spring day. She had her mother's hair, and perfectly milky skin._

 _Unlike her sisters, Marinette was by far the sweetest and kindest girl one could ever know. Not to mention she was a lot more self-sufficient and had all the makings of a queen. She would take on a lot of chores and tasks that were usually left to maids and butlers, and even help out in the kitchen, too. She was skilled in sewing and baking, was amazing at quick and creative thinking, and other tasks and skills that Chloé and Sabrina would not bother to even learn._

 _And not only that, but Marinette thought about the people that her family ruled over, and she always considered what it truly meant to be a leader. So, whenever she had a chance, she would dress in commoner clothing and go out into the village undercover to see what she could do to help out or improve the lives of the citizens. Jobs she did in the marketplace included distributing some of her handmade clothes to the poorer folks who needed them more than she did. She helped farmers harvest their crops and sell them, would often donate a lot of her jewelry pieces to churches, and so much more._

 _As Marinette grew up, she matured into a young woman who was more than fit to become queen. Before she even hit twelves years of age, the kingdom all wanted her to be her parents' successor, while they all but forgot about Chloé and Sabrina. Marinette was named Crown Princess by her 21st birthday..._

 _Yeah, if only the story were_ that _cut and dry. Then there wouldn't even_ _be a story to tell! Now that that spiel's over, let's get started on the_ actual _turn of events that happened prior to Marinette's coronation. So, let's start at when she was about sixteen and... Bingo! ROLL THE TAPE!  
_

* * *

A cool breeze blows through the sky as it carries leaves kissed by the gold of the mid-morning sun, hugged by the red of the apples of the trees, and dusted with brown of the soil of the farmland in Fortune.

As the leaves blew through the town, it was clear that harvest time was upon the kingdom. Pumpkins had been picked and placed on the doorsteps of the villagers, there were barrels of apples and pears being sold by farmers, vendors carried turnips, potatoes, squashes of many varieties, and the occasional brussels sprout.

Fallen leaves were scattered everywhere and the air was getting crisp and cool. Just the perfect day in early October.

"Morning, Ladybug!" "Hi, Ladybug!" "Morning!"

One girl was walking the village streets. She was wearing a red dress that had black spots all over it and her hair was tied back in pigtails. She was also wearing a red bandanna on her head.

"Morning, everyone." She said as she waved to passersby.

Whenever the princess was in the village, she would dress in red and black as opposed to her usual pink and she would go by the name Ladybug instead. It helped that she was usually not allowed out in public without escorts.

Marinette was enjoying the nice autumn breezes and the villagers' company. It certainly was a nice change from constantly putting on airs in the stifling halls of her castle. Sure, her parents were warm and loving, but she always knew that her sisters were... less than thrilled to be her family.

"Morning, Ladybug." Someone said.

He was a short boy with red hair that covered one of his blue eyes, and he was staring at her with an affectionate blush on his face. He was carrying a set of brushes and paints.

"Oh, morning, Nathaniel," Marinette said, smiling back at the boy. "How's Marc doing?"

Marc was another friend of theirs. A boy with black hair, green eyes, and an overall effeminate appearance. He was an excellent creative story writer, and combined with Nathaniel's artistic talents, the two of them started collaborating on books with each other. It was Marinette who encouraged them to work together, too.

"He's doing fine," Nathaniel replied. "He should be hiding out somewhere working on his next story. We're getting started on our next book."

"That's great," Marinette said. "I hope to see your next piece when it's done."

"Believe me," Nathaniel said, blushing deeper. "You'll be the first person to read it once we're done."

"Thanks, Nathaniel!" Marinette said with a smile. "I'm going to go visit Mylene and Ivan and see how they're doing."

Marinette kept walking along, leaving a swooning Nathaniel in her wake. Within a few minutes, the disguised princess made it to the blacksmith's, where Ivan was. He was a very tall, overweight bow with freckles and short brown hair that had a blonde tuft to it. He was hammering a hot metal piece on his anvil.

"Ivan!" Marinette said, waving to him.

"Morning, Ladybug," Ivan said as he waved the girl over. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said. "How's Mylene? I'm sure that she'll probably want to spend a bunch of time with you before your wedding."

Ivan had recently gotten engaged to Mylene, a girl who was shorter than him. She had golden eyes, golden hair with strands in green, blue, and magenta and held back by a bandana. She was also a little on the thick side, but that just made her more adorable.

"Oh yeah," He siad, blushing and rubbing his head. "She's helping her father out with a performance, but she should be around soon. I'll let her know you came by."

"Thank you, Ivan," Marinette said. "I'll see you later."

Marinette kept going around the village, talking to the citizens and asking them about their day and engaging them in conversations. Every now and then, they would spill praises or complaints about the state of affairs in the village. If Marinette saw that there was a problem that affected a lot of different people, such as surplus supplies that was not getting sold to the public or a shortage of something, Marinette would mentally note that and bring up these issues with her parents at court meetings, without hinting at her escapades of course.

Marinette came upon a fabric stall and saw some beautiful autumn-colored fabrics that she wanted to utilize in her designs. Since it was a relatively cheap fabric, Marinette thought that if she bought some and started making clothes, she could give back to the villagers by giving the clothes to the children.

"Wow! These fabrics are beautiful. The golds, reds, oranges, and browns are amazing!" Marinette said as she spoke to the stall owner.

"Thank you, Ladybug," Caline Bustier, the vendor said. "Would you like some?"

Marinette took out a small purse that she kept on hand. Whenever she would go out, she would always keep a _bare minimum_ of money on her. Enough to pay for what she would want without arousing suspicion.

"I'd love some!" Marinette said, exchanging some of the coins she had on her for an assortment of the fabrics Caline had. "Thank you, Ms. Bustier."

"Any time Ladybug." Caline said as she waved Marinette off.

By dusk, Marinette had made it back to the castle and had run through the gardens. She saw a makeshift rope ladder that was hanging outside a window, and started to climb up it.

In her chambers, a girl round her age with dark skin, hazel eyes, glasses, and dark red hair wearing an orange dress was pacing around. It was Alya Césaire, Marinette's lady-in-waiting and best friend.

"Come on, girl, hurry up," Alya said, worried. "Your parents are going to come and check on you any minute!"

There was a knock on the window. Alya ran over to it and opened it up, and Marinette climbed in, but not without flailing and falling flat on her face.

"There you are, girl!" Alya said as she helped the princess up. "You were really cutting it close today."

"I know," Marinette said as she dusted herself off. She then began to change into one of her nicer pink gowns. "But if mom and dad knew what I was up to, who knows what they would think?"

"Knowing them, they'd probably praise you for trying to help out in the villages," Alya said. "I see you brought more fabric. More materials for your projects to help the village kids?"

"Yep," Marinette said as she hid her purchase under her bed. "Thought I'd start making clothes for the little ones in town. I can't imagine how hard it must be not to have warm clothes in the wintertime."

"You're such a generous girl," Alya said. "Just like your parents."

Alya and Marinette had been friends since they were toddlers. Alya's parents were workers in the castle; her mother, Marlena, was the head chef of the castle, while Otis, her father, was in charge of the menagerie animals. Alya's older sister Nora was strong enough to be the captain of the royal guards, and would often challenge her workers to fights to challenge herself and help them improve, too. Alya also had two younger twin sisters, too.

Once Marinette got into a pink gown and put on a tiara, she went to wash up just in case any dirt had gotten on her.

"Hurry up, Marinette," Alya said. "Dinner's going to begin at any moment."

Marinette was ready for the meal as soon as she put her shoes on and left her chambers to go to the dining room. Alya was following behind.

Tom and Sabine were waiting with Sabrina and Chloé at the big table, where a lavish meal was spread out. The elder two girls were beginning to eat while the parents were waiting for Marinette.

"Girls, stop. Wait for your sister." Tom said.

"Ugh, fine," Chloé said, putting her fork down. "The pheasant's too dry for me anyway."

Sabrina made no comment as she gently put her fork down.

"Where could Marinette be?" Sabine asked.

"Mom, dad," Marinette said as she walked in and took her seat. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"Perfect timing, Marinette," Tom said. "Now, let us feast!"

Marinette patted the chair next to her and Alya sat down.

"Ugh, why is _the help_ sitting with us? Marinette, if you identify with commoners so much, why don't you go eat in the _servants' quarters_ with Alya and the rest of her family?" Chloé complained.

"Hey!" Marinette said, standing up. "We as members of the royal family owe a duty to our subjects to treat them with the same kindness and respect we would treat each other. Need I remind you that it's thanks to Alya's mother that we can eat like this?"

"Well, she _did_ overcook the pheasant," Chloé said with a smirk. "We should fire her and kick out the entire family."

"We will do no such thing, Chloé," Tom bellowed, causing her to go silent. "Marlena and her family have loyally worked for us for many years. I love taking time to go into the kitchen and making bread with her from time to time myself. It will do you some good to learn some humility."

Chloé slumped into her seat and continued to eat the poultry.

"So, autumn is upon us," Sabine said. "It's certainly a beautiful season. I hear the harvest has been exceptional this year."

"Indeed," Marinette said. "Though I _am_ concerned how everyone will survive the winter. The harvest may have been fruitful, but will it be enough for everyone to sustain themselves? Maybe we should consider opening up our food reserves for those who couldn't reap any of the benefits this year."

"That's an excellent idea, Marinette," Tom said. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Always thinking of others instead of yourself."

Marinette smiled and continued to eat.

"There's no way I'm going to let some filthy peasants touch the food we royals are entitled to!" Chloé said.

"Neither will I." Sabrina quietly agreed.

"Mind your tongues, both of you," Tom said. "It wouldn't hurt to take a few leaves out of your sister's book."

Chloé and Sabrina merely glared at Marinette as she and Alya kept talking animatedly with each other.

After the meal was over, Marinette had pulled her parents aside to talk to them about something she had heard from the villagers earlier that day.

"So, what's the matter, Marinette?" Sabine asked.

"I think that the maybe we need to improve the sheep farming," Marinette suggested. "I've heard that the sheep farmers are going through a bit of a rough patch right now because the grasses are starting to die off due to the cold. So I was thinking that if would could find a way to raise more sheep in the spring and summer months, the more meat people will have to eat in the winter, and not only that, but there will be more wool available for everyone to make clothes they need for the wintertime."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan, Marinette," Tom said. "Did you hear that from your usual escapades to the village?"

"Yes, I- HUH?!" Marinette shouted, surprised. "How did...?"

"One of the guards reported that he found a rope ladder hanging out your bedroom window," Sabine explained. "And some of the maids have noticed scraps of lower-quality fabric in your room. And whenever we have meetings in court, you always tell us about things that only people in the village would know about."

Marinette sighed in defeat, realizing that she had been busted by her parents.

"But you always come back unharmed and you always go out to help people, just by talking to them and being their friend or making and giving away clothes to help the less fortunate," Tom said. "Not only that, but because of your comments, whenever we make new decisions for the realm, they are always met with praises by the representatives and the public."

"So... I'm not in trouble?" Marinette asked.

"Not at all, Marinette," Sabine said, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You're doing an excellent job. In fact, we want you to keep it up."

"Yep," Tom said. "With that kind of devotion to our citizens' well-being, you're more than qualified to become the future queen."

Marinette blushed and hugged her parents, happy that they were proud of her.

"Maybe we should start inviting suitors for Marinette to the castle?" Sabine suggested. "I'm sure there will be plenty of noble men who would want our youngest's hand in marriage."

"Yes," Tom said. "Let's get started. We'll hold our first ball, invite every noble and royal boy in her peer group, and she's sure to catch a husband in no time!"

Marinette was a bit anxious about meeting suitors. She was only sixteen. She had time.

Hiding behind another corridor, Chloé and Sabrina had overheard the whole thing.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé said, frustrated. "How can they choose _her_ to become queen?! I'm the eldest! That means that I automatically become Crown Princess and later Queen! Not only that, but I'm more beautiful, more poised, and _more perfect!_ She's just a klutz who's going around gallivanting with _lowlifes_ , yet they want _her_ to be queen?!"

"W-Well, Chloé, she's actively trying to help the people," Sabrina said. "So..."

"Are you saying you're _fine_ with that little tramp taking _my_ birthright away from me?!" Chloé snarled.

"N-No! You're definitely more qualified to be queen!" Sabrina said, backpedalling and trying to please Chloé.

"Then you'll help me get rid of her," Chloé said. "And once that little pest is out of our hair, the throne is mine for the taking! Every suitor will be bowing before _me_ , not Marinette! Because Marinette will be _dead_."

"Are you crazy?!" Sabrina said. "If anyone finds out...!"

"We'll just make sure no one does. Besides, whoever said _I_ was going to get my perfect hands dirty doing away with family? We'll just set her up to die." Chloé said as she started to walk away and inform Sabrina of her plans.

* * *

The girls had come up with one of most heinous schemes imaginable: they would trick Marinette into going into the border woods at night. Since the forest was so huge, it would be easy for Marinette to get lost. In addition, Chloé and Sabrina were hoping that the legends of a monster in the woods were true and that the beast would be heartless enough to kill their sister. This way it would be easy for the blame to be put on the beast, not them, and Marinette would be dead. Two birds with one stone, Sabrina said.

Though the redhead was not at all looking forward to hurting Marinette, it was either that or suffer at the hands of her older sister.

The next few days, the girls would plot and scheme on how they would trick Marinette into going into the woods.

"We could lie to Marinette and tell her that Alya went in to see if the beast is real." Sabrina suggested.

"Great!" Chloé said. "Glad I thought of it."

Sabrina pouted because it was _her_ idea. But then they started to figure out exactly how they would keep Alya occupied long enough to get Marinette to leave.

"Alright, know the plan?" Chloé said.

"Right." Sabrina said as she went to go and find Alya.

The lady-in-waiting was babysitting the twins while her parents were busy. Sabrina soon came in and said, "Alya, a word, please?"

Alya looked up to the redheaded princess, and suspiciously asked, "What do you want, Sabrina?"

"Well, I um... I was thinking... Is Marinette busy right now?" Sabrina asked.

"She should be in her room..." Alya said, not telling Sabrina about her mistress's adventures out in the village.

"Great! I was thinking, since Marinette's holing up in her chambers as usual, why don't you and I go into the village and get pampered? I'm sure Marinette doesn't do that for you very often." Sabrina said.

Alya, still sensing something was wrong, said, "No thanks. Marinette and I don't really do that together. She says I don't need it because I'm pretty enough as it is. She told me that I can be easily mistaken for a princess myself."

"Well, in that case..." Sabrina said, pulling out a list of considerable, courtesy of Chloé. "You would still need to go into the village anyway. Chloé's usual staff are occupied, so she needs someone to do her shopping."

"Ugh, fine," Alya said, snatching the paper. "Might as well give blondie what she wants if it will shut her up for a while. I'll go change clothes."

As soon as Alya left, Sabrina smirked. Everything was going according to plan. That list was comprised of items that were nearly impossible to find. And even if Alya _did_ get them, she would not make it back before dark.

Alya soon left the castle to do the errands. Meanwhile, she had missed that Marinette had snuck back into her room with more sewing materials for clothes.

"Alya?" Marinette asked as she entered the room and put the fabrics, threads, and buttons down. "Alya, are you here?"

No answer. So, instead of worrying about her best friend, Marinette just got back to sewing. Marinette knew that Alya could take care of herself, so she was not concerned about her. Marinette kept making shirts, dresses, pants, hats, etc. with all of the fabric that she had on hand. She soon had a considerable pile of finished products on her bed, and it had already gotten dark.

She looked out the window and saw that it was dark, and she grew worried. She asked aloud, "Alya, where are you...?"

She considered all the possibilities. It was possible that Alya had been asked to babysit the twins, which happened often enough that it would be reasonable to assume that immediately. Alya also had other duties in the castle besides waiting on her. Then there was the idea that Alya would take lessons from Nora and the guard, and maybe she lost track of time. All of these were possible, she kept telling herself.

Once it was about eight at night, Marinette decided to go and look for Alya instead of waiting around. Just as she stood up, there was a knock at her door, and Marinette dashed over to the door, hoping it was her lady-in-waiting.

"Alya?!" Marinette asked, throwing open the door, only to reveal that Chloé was standing there instead. "Chloé? What's the matter?"

"Can't I come to talk to my sister?" Chloé asked as she came into the room.

Marinette sensed something was off about this, but decided to ignore it and said, "Listen, Chloé, I have to find Alya. Do you have any idea where she could be?"

"Oh, Alya?" Chloé asked, her back still turned to her sister. She was giving an evil smile while trying to sound worried. "You mean she didn't tell you?"

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"She... Sh-She..." Chloé began, using a fake voice that sounded like it was breaking. "She went into the border woods."

"The border woods?!" Marinette asked. "This late at night?! Why?!"

"You know she's always one for gossip and stories," Chloé said. "So, she went into the woods earlier this afternoon to see if she could see if the legends are true."

"You mean the legend of the nighttime beast?!" Marinette asked, freaking out.

"Yes. She hasn't come back from her excursion yet," Chloé said, turning around and showing a fake frown. "If the legend's true, then maybe..."

"No! There's no way that monster could have killed her! Alya's a bit reckless, yes, but not like that! She would know to stay on the path at least!" Marinette began, trying to rationalize the situation. "And maybe she was smart enough not to get it mad, and then it just sang and she fell asleep before getting kicked out like some people have reported?!"

"Who knows? Should we get the guard to go out and look for her?" Chloé suggested.

"No!" Marinette said. She was still in her commoner disguise, so she had an idea. " _I'll_ go and look for her myself!"

"Are you sure? You said it yourself, it isn't safe to go out there." Chloé asked.

"I wouldn't abandon my best friend! I'm going! If anyone asks, tell them where I've gone, but insist that no guards come with me! I don't want to gamble on the legends being real and scaring it." Marinette said as she put on some shoes, packed a lamp, some food, and a few other supplies.

"Be careful." Chloé said, still being fake.

"I will," Marinette said as she climbed out the window and down her ladder. "I'll bring Alya back before long! I promise!"

Once she was down on the ground, she immediately ran out of the gates and into the border woods until she was out of sight. Chloé sneered and dropped the ladder so Marinette could not get back in even if she _did_ get out of the woods alive.

"Good riddance." Chloé said before shutting the window and leaving, cackling in triumph.

Marinette was running through the woods, shouting for her best friend. She had her lamp lit up and she was running down the path of the border woods.

The main reason they even _had_ a path in the woods to begin with was because legendary monster aside, it was an important route for travel and trade, and it was the shortest way between Fortune and Lumiére kingdoms, especially compared to going the long way around. Not only that, there had yet to be any reports of an attack from the beast on the path. It was either one of those creatures that liked staying away from people on instinct, or it was smart enough not to leave itself open to attack by scared humans. Marinette had a suspicion it was a combination of both.

"Alya! Alya! Answer if you can hear me!" Marinette screamed, trying to find Alya. "This is insane... What was she thinking, coming out here?"

Out of breath, Marinette started to slow her pace and kept shouting for Alya. She was getting tired, and she took out her water container and took a sip from it before putting it away.

Marinette started looking around at her surroundings. She could only see about four feet in front of her face, and everything around her looked identical. Trees after trees, some of them with all of their leaves on, some of them completely bare. Not only that, but the sky was covered in clouds, but the full moon was bright out.

She saw that there was a patch of grass that looked like it had been trampled down, and just recently too. Marinette looked ahead and saw that it was dark and heavily wooded. Just the place where someone as curious as Alya would want to go.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Marinette whispered to herself as she took a chance and strayed off the path and into the trees.

As soon as she got off the path, she saw that it was pretty steep. But Marinette had to press on to find her best friend. She would find a way out later.

One step, and true to form, Marinette's clumsiness had to kick in at the worst time. She tripped on a rock and then she started tumbling and rolling down a hill, screaming in pain with each time something on her body hit the ground, including her head.

As she continued her fall, her right ankle hit a large boulder and she screamed at the top of her lungs in the most pain she had ever felt. Once she reached the bottom of the hill, she stopped, landing on her stomach. She tried to collect herself and she just barely managed to stand.

She noticed that it was now pitch black and she could just barely see in front of her face. Marinette turned to her right and saw that her lamp had broken and landed in the stream nearby.

"Great! Now I'm on my own!" Marinette complained as she pushed on.

She continued limping, shouting for Alya to answer her.

Marinette going on for what seemed like hours. She tried her best to keep going, but the pain in her ankle was getting to her. Marinette soon saw a large bare tree in a clearing, and since she was so tired, she sat under it to get some rest.

She kept looking around, not sure where she was. Everything was starting to look the same, the temperature was dropping, and she had lost her source of light. She would have to hope that the legendary monster would not find her, or that it would spare her or even "kick her out" without hurting her like he did to some trespassers. That would at least get her on the path back home by the next morning.

Marinette was worried sick about Alya, but no matter how long she looked, Marinette could not find her redheaded best friend. She started to shiver from the cold and she was about to cry, scared and confused, not sure where she was, worried about her friend, everything.

There was the sound of a wolf howling in the distance. Marinette froze, afraid. She knew wolves were more likely to avoid humans instead of attack them, so as long as she stayed put, she would likely be okay.

Just as she was relaxing, though, she heard rustling in the bushes and snapping branches.

"Alya?!" Marinette asked, hopeful that she found her lady-in-waiting.

But silence followed. Marinette sighed, thinking it was probably just a forest animal.

Between the howling wolves, the eerie forest, the hooting owls, and just being all alone, Marinette was scared. She was on the verge of tears, and she was so tired. She took out her knapsack and extracted a large blanket that she had packed. If she was going to be stuck all night in pain, she might as well try to stay warm.

She had no fuel to make a fire, so she had to make do with what she had.

She gently laid her head on the root of the tree, and tried her best to get to sleep.

But she was still on edge, so once she heard more rustling, she tensed up and whimpered.

In the bushes, a pair of glowing eyes was observing her. Whatever was in the foliage could tell that Marinette was scared to death, and she was hurt, too. It could sense that Marinette meant no harm, and just wound up here by complete accident.

So, out of concern for the girl, the creature began to sing a soft, sweet melody to try and calm her down.

Marinette tried to cover her ears and tune out the music, but it was just so pleasant that she could not help but drift off to sleep. Her eyes closed and she started to relax, feeling safe and comfortable.

The mist in the woods grew thicker and thicker as it surrounded Marinette and she was soon obscured from view. Once the mist faded away, the princess was gone, blanket and all...

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter one! Coming up in Chapter 2, Marinette officially meets Luka and the two of them start bonding with each other.**

 **Remember, this story is being posted on a trial basis, so if it isn't as well-received as I would like, then it's going to be deleted. Please leave a comment! I'd like to see at least five.**

 **As a bit of trivia, when I decided to name the kingdoms, "Fortune" translates to luck while "Lumiére" means light (and yes, it's the same word as the name of the character Lumiére from "Beauty and the Beast"). This was deliberate because Marinette holds the Miraculous of good luck and creation while Luka's name translates to "light" as opposed to Adrien's name meaning "the dark one."**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! In this chapter, Marinette awakes to find herself in Lumière Kingdom in the company of an enigmatic pair of royal siblings. Due to her injury, she's stuck at their castle for a while. But it isn't all bad, especially since Luka has caught her eye.**

 **Now, I want MORE ENCOURAGEMENT, people! More comments, more favorites, etc. Let's shoot the review goal up to say... 15+?**

* * *

The sunlight poured onto Marinette's face. In response to the invasive sensation, she sat up and noticed where she was. She was lying on a palatial canopy bed, and in a luxurious bedroom similar to that of her room back home. The interior was definitely a little on the darker side, but the silvers in the room gave it enough balance. Marinette noticed that she was at least in somewhat familiar surroundings. But her body felt sore everywhere, especially on her foot. She also saw that she was wearing a clean, black nightgown.

"Where am I... And how did I get here?" Marinette asked aloud.

"Oh, you're awake. You okay?" A voice said, startling her.

"Who's there?!" Marinette shouted, taking up a pillow to defend herself.

Out of the shadow of one of the dressers came a young man. He looked to be around her age or at least a year older than her. He had olive skin, black hair with teal tips, matching eyes, and black gages in his ears. He also was wearing casual clothing in the same color scheme... Well, casual by the standards of nobility and royalty at least.

"Just relax," He said. "You're safe. So, how are you feeling?"

Marinette's eyes widened in surprise. Whoever this boy was, he was pretty handsome. And considering that he asked if she was okay or not, that meant that he most likely had found her in the woods and brought her back to wherever she was.

"Um, sore but fine." Marinette replied.

"That's good," He said. "You looked like you had been through a rough time."

Marinette saw that there was a full-length mirror near the bed, and as she looked into the reflective glass, she noticed the bandages all over her face and arms.

"I guess that fall hurt me more than I thought..." Marinette said, rubbing her face. "But... Who are you?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" He said, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "My name's Luka."

"My name's Ma... Um, Mamamarinette. Princess Marinette of Fortune." Marinette introduced as formally as she could, but she stammered for some reason. And Luka was chuckling with a smile on his face.

Her face turned red and she turned her head away, a little embarrassed that she fumbled over her words, especially in front of a stranger. She was a princess, and she had to be perfectly poised at all times in front of people outside her inner circle.

As Luka calmed down, he remembered what he was doing.

"Oh, sorry for laughing." Luka said, giving Marinette a somewhat remorseful look on his face.

"It's okay..." Marinette said, feeling more relaxed.

"Thanks. Anyway, you're a long way from home. You're in Lumière Kingdom right now." Luka explained.

"Lumière?! I couldn't have walked all the way here on foot in one night..." Marinette said, not sure how she wound up across the border.

The woods went on for miles, and the terrain was only flat and smooth on the path with the occasional rock. By horse-drawn carriage, one could make it across the border in about an hour or so, but on foot, it could take at least a day. Since she went off the trail, that could have set her back a long way, but that begged the question of exactly how far into the forest she had gone.

Luka muttered something that Marinette could not hear, before his eyes went askance for a second. He looked up again and asked, "Well, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I... I remember hearing some soothing music and then falling asleep under a tree..." Marinette began. "After that, my memory's a complete blank. Did you...?"

"Yes, I brought you back here when I found you under the tree," Luka explained. "I gave you first aid and had my sister change you into one of her sleeping gowns."

"Thank you," Marinette asked. "But... What were you doing out in the woods so late?"

Luka cleared his throat, but he was making it look like he was chuckling, and said, "Well, I could ask you the same thing."

All of Marinette's thought processes stopped dead in their tracks when Luka said that, and she immediately remembered why she even went into the border woods in the first place.

"Oh crap! Alya! I completely forgot!" Marinette shouted, slapping her hands on her face. "My best friend and lady-in-waiting went into the woods last night to see if she could find out if the legends about a night creature were true! But she didn't come back, so I went out to look for her, got lost, and..."

Luka gave Marinette a sweet smile, admiring how she was willing to go out and put herself in harm's way for her friend.

"It was really brave of you to go out alone to find Alya," Luka said. "I don't know a lot of girls who would do that."

"Oh, thank you," Marinette said, blushing again. "And thank you again for helping me, but now I have to go back out and find Alya. Since it's daylight, it should be easy to..."

Luka gave Marinette a solemn expression and said, "I'm afraid you're not going anywhere for a little while."

"What do you - _OWWW!_ " Marinette began, but once she put her foot on the floor, she screamed as a lightning-bolt of excruciating pain shot throughout her. She immediately got off her foot and sat back on the bed.

Luka, who had covered his ears, looked at Marinette and said, "Your right foot. It's hurt pretty badly."

Marinette looked down and saw that her right foot had been bandaged up. She saw a pile of pillows on the other side of the bed, where her foot had initially been resting earlier.

"I... I guess I hadn't noticed," Marinette said, before looking back to Luka. "You're really easy to talk to, Luka."

"I return the compliment, Your Highness," Luka joked, getting a laugh out of Marinette. "I had my sister send for the doctor to get a look at that foot of yours. Hopefully it's minor."

"Thank you so much." Marinette said, grateful that this young man was kind enough to tend to her needs when she was in trouble.

"I have some work to do," Luka said. "I'll be back with the doctor later, okay?"

"Okay." Marinette said as Luka left out the door to her bedroom, but not without closing it.

For some reason, Marinette felt warm inside, and kept gazing at the door, hoping that Luka would come back inside and continued talking to her. But now she had to find a way to keep herself entertained until the doctor came. So, she laid back down on the bed, resting her head against the pillows, and started to think about a few things.

Her main thought: where was Alya?

* * *

 _"Where's Marinette?!"_ A voice shouted through the castle.

In the throne room, Tom and Sabine were fraught with worry over their daughter. Sabine was hugging Tom and sobbing into his chest for comfort. Alya was pacing around the room, nervous.

"Where could she have gone? She always comes back after her village trips." Sabine said, before going back to crying.

"Marinette wouldn't run off like this. She's a dutiful girl, so she couldn't have just left." Tom said, trying to figure out what had happened.

Simply put, Alya came back after dark. She had reached nothing but a dead ends with the list, so she came back to the castle and went to rant about it to Marinette. Unfortunately, Alya had found that Marinette was missing from her chambers. And when she saw that some of her belongings from her village trips had gone missing, the window was shut and the rope ladder had fallen, she began to fear the worst. She told Sabine and Tom of her findings, worrying the two parents. The guards searched Fortune all night, but there was no sign of the youngest princess.

"And I doubt that she'd just vanish over the idea of suitors," Alya said. "You'd never pressure her into marrying someone she didn't like, so we can rule that out."

"Are you sure you didn't find anything in her room? No letter telling you where she was going or anything like that?" Tom asked Alya.

"Zilch. But I noticed her chamber windows were closed and the ladder fell down. We're usually pretty good about keeping that thing fastened to the wall." Alya reported.

"But what could have motivated her to just leave?" Sabine asked. "Alya, are you sure she didn't say anything to you?"

"No. When I last saw her yesterday, she left for her usual village trip, not bringing anything except a little money. And I had left the castle on errands some time after that. I didn't come back until after dark, and that's when I noticed that Marinette had left her purse and packed a bag, so she must have come back in the room and then left again before I got back." Alya said.

"So you haven't seen her since yesterday morning?" Tom summarized.

"Right," Alya said. "Marinette's a responsible girl. She wouldn't just abandon her family or her kingdom."

They heard a pair of footsteps coming through the halls, and the group turned to find Chloé and Sabrina waltzing around like nothing was wrong.

"Chloé! Sabrina!" Tom said, addressing his other two daughters. They looked up to their father and feigned innocence.

"What's the matter?" Chloé asked a little too innocently. "Has there been a robbery?! No! Who did this?!"

"This has nothing to do with shiny rocks, girls! Your sister has been missing since yesterday!" Sabine chastised, not happy that Chloé was worried about gemstones rather than family.

"Maybe she just decided to sleep over with the other filthy commoners, since she likes them so much. Honestly, that girl can't carry herself the way she should." Chloé sneered, smirking.

Seeing this, Alya grew a little suspicious.

"Don't talk about Marinette that way!" Tom angrily shouted. "She's going to be the queen of this kingdom! It will do you good to treat her with respect."

"She won't be queen on my watch." Chloé muttered, crossing her arms.

"What was that?" Alya asked, sure that Chloé said something.

"Oh, Chloé didn't say anything," Sabrina said. "But honestly, I don't see why Marinette should be queen. She's clumsy and unpolished. Sure, she can dance without tripping over her feet, but otherwise she's a complete mess. No suitor wants a girl like her. Not only that, but she's the youngest of us. Shouldn't Chloé get the throne? After all, the rule _is_ that the firstborn is named heir, isn't it?"

"Traditions and rules aren't the same thing," Alya said. "And if Tom and Sabine think Marinette's worthy of the throne, then it's their choice. You two need to be respectful of that."

"Quiet, peasant!" Chloé shouted. "I'm still of higher rank. Push it and your entire family will be out in the slums!"

" _You_ push it and you'll be stripped of your birthright! Both of you," Tom sternly said, crossing his arms. "Why aren't you worried about Marinette?!"

"Who said we weren't?" Sabrina asked, trying to play along with the act. "Knowing her, she'll be back in no time. Even if her rope ladder fell down, she'll find another way in. She'll just have to go in front gates, like any _normal_ princess would."

Chloé stomped on Sabrina's foot, causing her to stiffen up and hold back a scream in pain.

"Oh? And how do _you_ know Marinette's rope ladder fell from her window?" Alya asked, crossing her arms and eying the other princesses with suspicion.

"Gossip from the guards. How else would she know?" Chloé asked. "Come on, Sabrina. The maids are overdue for my hair appointment."

As the elder princesses walked away, Alya kept an eye on them and said, "I'm smelling a rat..."

Tom and Sabine were a suspicious, too. They were inclined to agree with Alya, especially since she was more observant and a faster learner than the two of them combined.

"I just hope Marinette's okay, wherever she's gone..." Sabine said, still worried about her youngest daughter.

* * *

Back at Luka's castle, Marinette was still lying in her bed, letting her imagination run wild. It was a challenge trying to keep herself from getting bored. Right about now she would be sketching a new design or thinking about solutions to issues in her kingdom, but since she was elsewhere, she was stuck.

There was a knock on her door and Marinette said, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and so far no one came in. Marinette, curious, quirked a brow. But then a girl around her age that had her face obscured with long black hair with purple tips came in. Her creepy entrance combined with the sudden moves she made startled Marinette, and she Marinette shouted in surprise.

"Oh, sorry!" She said, lifting her head up. She had red-brown eyes and was wearing lavender lipstick. She was also wearing a formal black dress. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Marinette sighed in relief before saying, "It's okay. I shouldn't have screamed."

The girl gave a slight nod before approaching the bed. In her hands was a tray with a bowl of soup, an apple, and some bread.

"You must be pretty hungry." She quietly said as she placed the tray in front of Marinette.

Marinette's stomach growled as she smelled the food and said, "I am. Thank you."

Marinette took the spoon and started to eat the soup. It had fresh vegetables and a few pieces of chicken inside.

"Mm... Oh, this is good," Marinette said. Her stomach growled in satisfaction. "This really hits the spot. I don't think I ate since lunch yesterday."

"That's good that the food is to your liking," The girl said quietly. "My brother wanted me to make sure you had something in your stomach before the doctor arrived."

"Brother?" Marinette asked as she swallowed a bite of the bread.

"I'm Princess Juleka. Luka's my older brother." The girl said, giving Marinette a curtsy.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Juleka," Marinette said, giving a nod to the princess in lieu of a curtsy. "I should have been more formal had I known as I was in the presence of fellow royalty."

"We don't really like all that properness. Kind of suffocating," Juleka quietly informed. "Please, don't let me stop you from eating."

"Okay!" Marinette said as she bit a large part of her apple. She was too concerned about feeding herself to worry about manners.

After a nice meal, Marinette sighed, sated from the food.

"That was delicious," Marinette said. "Thank you so much for the food."

"It's my pleasure." Juleka said, and then there was a knock on the door.

The door opened again and Luka came in with the doctor.

"Ah, so my patient is Her Highness, Princess Marinette of Fortune?" The doctor said, pleasantly surprised to see another princess in his presence. Juleka took this as her cue to leave.

"Yes. I can tell that her foot's in pretty bad shape," Luka said. "Do you think you could take a look at her, please?"

"Why certainly." The doctor replied as he went over to Marinette's bed and began his examination.

Luka stayed in the room, watching intently as Marinette patiently let the doctor do his job. Whenever she felt pain, she would bite her tongue and not scream. The doctor could tell that her right foot was pretty banged up.

After his examination, which lasted under fifteen minutes, the doctor looked up to Marinette with a grim expression.

"So?" Marinette asked, urgency in her tone.

"Broken," The doctor said point-blank. "You're going to need to stay off that foot for a few weeks. Maybe a month."

 _"A month?!"_ Marinette squeaked, scared. "But by then... Alya could be in huge trouble! Maybe dead!"

"Don't worry," Luka said. "I'll get some of the guards to go out into the woods and look for her."

"Thank you," Marinette said, relieved that her host was willing to go to these lengths for her. "But what if I need something?"

"I already thought of that," The doctor responded as he started to bandage up Marinette's foot. "I brought crutches just in case, so you can use them to get around if you need it. Otherwise, I'd let the staff wait on you hand and foot."

"I don't really like doing that," Marinette said. "But if it's going to get me back home faster, then okay."

"Good to see you're cooperative," The doctor said with an approving nod and smile. "Not like some other patients I've encountered."

The doctor soon left, and Marinette and Luka were left alone. The two of them kept their eyes on each other, and they were both a little shy.

"So..." Marinette began, trying to find a way to start the conversation.

"I should go," Luka said, making for the door. "I can come check on you later."

"What if I..." Marinette began, but Luka then pointed to the side table next to the bed.

"Just ring the bell on the table and either Juleka or I will come for you, either for anything you need, or just to talk if you want." Luka explained.

"Thank you," Marinette said. "Thank you for everything."

"It's my pleasure." Luka said with a nod before leaving out the door.

Marinette sighed, watching the door with a hopeful, affectionate look in her eyes.

As Luka walked down the hall a bit, he had a smile on his face, just thinking about the adorable princess that had graced his house. Not only that, but she was going to be staying for a while. But once that thought crossed his mind, face turned from pleasant to a bit concerned. Yes, he was worried about Marinette and he was hoping that she would recover quickly, but there was something else that he was worried about.

"Luka," Juleka said. "How is she?"

"Broken foot," Luka said. "She's going to be here for a while."

Just the idea of Marinette being in their castle was great news to him. He had a smile on his face at the idea of getting to spend more time with her.

Noticing her brother's demeanor, Juleka neutrally said, "Luka."

"Yes, Juleka?" Luka asked.

"...Be careful." Juleka quietly warned him.

Luka's face fell at that warning and he quietly replied, "...I know."

"...You just barely woke up as yourself this morning." Juleka commented.

Luka nodded, a sad expression on his face. The two siblings fell into silence.

Luka looked to the one of the windows in the hall and saw that the sun was still up in the sky. Not even noon. He muttered out, "The sunrise has always been a symbol of hope..."

Juleka nodded and made a noise in response, knowing what her brother was talking about.

"I've got some duties to attend to." Luka brusquely said as he went on his way back to his study.

Juleka watched her brother, and then looked back out the window. She sighed sadly before walking off.

* * *

After a few hours, Marinette got a case of cabin fever. So, she rang the bell to call for Juleka.

"You rang?" Juleka quietly asked.

"Yes," Marinette asked, as she took up the crutches next to her bed. "Could I get a tour of the castle, please?"

Juleka flinched a little bit. She was only here for a few hours and Marinette wanted to look around? Well, she _was_ going to be stuck there for a month, so it made some sense.

"Sure thing," Juleka said with a smile. "Follow me."

Juleka helped Marinette stand and walk with her crutches, before asking, "What would you like to see first?"

"Well... Do you happen to have a sewing room?" Marinette asked.

Juleka smiled and delightedly said, "We sure do. Come on, let me show you."

Juleka helped Marinette leave the room and walk down the hall without any trouble. Marinette soon got the hang of the crutches and began to walk with them on her own.

As the two princesses walked the halls, Marinette noticed that the castle was pretty unkempt. The carpets did not seem very clean, the tapestries were dusty, there was dust floating around in the halls, and there were some random objects on the floors in some of the rooms. For royalty, the living situation looked very sloppy, not as impeccably clean as one would expect from any royal or noble house.

"It's... Kind of a mess in here, isn't it?" Marinette asked.

"Yes," Juleka admitted. "Our mother believed in personal freedom and we like the lived-in home feel in this castle. That's why we don't really have the staff around here clean up unless it's a real problem."

"I see." Marinette said, a little surprised that this family sort of ignored the expectations of royalty and just did their own thing. It was a breath of fresh air to Marinette.

As they made it to a large staircase that led up to the next floor. According to Juleka, the sewing room was on the second floor of the castle, while they were on the first floor. Due to her foot, Marinette needed help getting up and down, and Juleka had no trouble giving it to her.

"Watch your step," Juleka said as she and gently led Marinette up the stairs to the next floor of the castle. "It's a steep climb, I know..."

"Thanks. I can do it, though," Marinette said as she continued to climb the stairs, but not without any struggle or difficulty. "I can't wait to see this sewing room."

"Yeah, it's usually for the castle seamstresses," Juleka said. "But I don't see why they wouldn't let you in and let you make your own clothes."

"That would be great!" Marinette said, her eyes alight. "I can't be cooped up in my room day in and day out."

Juleka had to giggle a bit at Marinette's positive outlook on her situation. Though she was going to be in the castle for a while, she was trying to make the most of it by finding ways to keep herself occupied to take her mind off her foot.

"Here we are: the seamstress's quarters," Juleka said as she showed Marinette to an unassuming door. "We don't have much, but hopefully it's to your liking."

Juleka opened the door to reveal a large room dedicated solely to making clothes. There were bolts of a variety of fabrics on the shelves on the walls, rolls of thread, several mannequins around the room, and other tools.

"Wow... This is amazing! With all of this, I can make more clothes for the villagers than I could back in Fortune!" Marinette said as she looked around in awe of the grandeur of the room.

"I'm glad," Juleka said. "Shall I let you get to work?"

"I will!" Marinette said as she started hobbling over to one of the tables with her crutches. She saw that there was an empty sketchpad and some charcoal right there, and so she got started right away.

"I'll let the seamstresses know that you'll be in here whenever possible," Juleka said. "Have fun."

"Okay!" Marinette said as Juleka left the room. As soon as she did, Marinette began to sketch out a few new designs to make.

Marinette started sketching out shirts and pants of all varieties. Not to mention the occasional dress for the little girls in the village, too. Once she had her designs out, Marinette started to look around at all the fabrics she had at her disposal.

Her eyes soon laid on some teal fabric that was on the shelf. She would have to get help getting it down since she was too short and she was in no condition to get a step ladder to get it.

As soon as she saw the fabric, Marinette's thoughts immediately went to Luka, as the color reminded him of his eyes and hair. Not only was he a prince who was handsome enough to be a God, but he certainly had the heart of a prince, too. He went out of his way to help her when she was hurt, got a doctor for her, and was letting her stay with him and Juleka while she recovered. It made her feel warm and happy inside, and she wanted to do something to show him her gratitude.

With that in mind and a renewed vigor, Marinette started to sketch out another design with him as inspiration. After all, that fabric was just the perfect thing to match his eyes...

* * *

In his study, Luka was working on some documentation for the kingdom, including tax reforms, promotion of the arts, and trade agreements with other kingdoms.

There was a knock at the door and he said, "Come in."

The captain of the guard entered and said, "Your Highness."

"Any luck on finding Alya?" Luka asked as he stood from his desk.

"Sorry, I'm afraid not," The captain said. "The only thing we found was a broken lamp in the river, most likely Princess Marinette's. The guards and I haven't seen any trace of the girl matching the description."

Luka grew a bit sad and confused at this new information. He crossed his arms and said, "That's a little strange. Please let me know if anything comes up."

"Understood, Your Highness." The captain said before leaving the room.

Luka was left in silence as he continued his paperwork.

A few hours later, Marinette, Luka, and Juleka were sitting at the vast dining room table for dinner. They all had a pretty long day, and they were hungry. Luka sat at the head of the table while Marinette sat on his right and Juleka was sitting at his left on the sides. Their meal consisted of oven-roasted potatoes, a nice rack of lamb, and more soup.

As the butlers served the food, the three royals were talking to each other, with all formalities out of the conversation.

"So, how did you keep yourself busy today?" Luka asked Marinette, his eyes never leaving her.

"Juleka showed me to the seamstress' quarters and I've been designing and sewing clothes in the room all day," Marinette said, delighted to talk to Luka about her day, all the while eating some delicious food. "I can't wait to show them to you when they're finished!"

"You like sewing, then?" Luka asked, a smile on his face.

"I sure do!" Marinette said. "Whenever I have some downtime, I'll sew clothes and give them to the people in my kingdom. I like sneaking out of the castle to go see what's happening in the villages. It really helps me feel like I'm doing something to improve the citizens' lives."

"You're something else, Marinette," Luka said with a chuckle, looking at Marinette with interest and maintaining eye contact. "Always looking out for your people. That's amazing."

"Oh, it's nothing," Marinette said, a blush rising up from the praise. "I just think it's my duty as the Princess of Fortune to help my people."

Luka kept his eyes on Marinette, finding her blush cute and admiring the devotion she had to her realm. He had never met a princess who showed such dedication to her responsibilities. It was endearing.

Juleka had to smile at Marinette, approving of her.

"So, what royal duties do you have?" Marinette asked Luka and Juleka.

"Well, our main priority is letting the arts flourish," Luka said. "Especially music. We're really into allowing self-expression and creativity here. So sometimes Juleka and I go to schools and churches to help them promote the arts, and we always make sure there's funding for art and music in the schools."

"Wow, that's so impressive," Marinette said. "It _is_ important to let people foster their creativity. But what about other issues? Economy, infrastructure, trade?"

"Don't worry, we always keep that in mind." Juleka said.

"That's good," Marinette said as she ate a bite of her lamb. She then saw something out the window. "Oh, isn't the sunset beautiful?"

Luka looked out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. As if a switch went on, he ate a few more bites of his meal before putting his fork down.

He stood up and said, "Excuse me, Marinette, but I have to... Get ready to retire for the night."

"This early?" Marinette asked, quirking a brow.

"Yes. I like spending the final hours of the day doing a little extra... Music practice. It helps me fall asleep." Luka said, before giving Marinette a smile and leaving the dining room.

Juleka did not seem to find this odd, but Marinette was confused. In fact, she was worried that Luka got upset about something she said.

"Juleka, did I say something wrong?" Marinette asked, a little worried.

"Not at all. In fact, I think Luka really enjoyed talking to you tonight." Juleka told Marinette.

"Then why would Luka go to bed early?" Marinette asked Juleka.

"Luka likes being well-rested. It helps him concentrate on his work." Juleka quietly said.

"Speaking of rest," Marinette said. "Maybe I should get back to my room and rest my foot again."

"Allow me to escort you back to your room, Your Highness." A staff member said as he helped Marinette to stand, and then he started walking her back to the guest room that they had.

Juleka breathed a sigh of relief before looking out the window again. She always had a love for the dark and the scary, but whenever the sun went down, she would get a bit worried...

* * *

Dark came, and Marinette was asleep in her bed... Or was at least _trying_ to sleep. She was shivering, biting her lip, cold sweat, and tossing and turning, being mindful of her foot. The poor girl was having a nightmare, and a pretty scary one at that.

 _~Nightmare~_

 _Marinette was sitting in a beautiful, sunny flower garden that had flowers of all kinds, listening to beautiful cittern music that was coming from somewhere. But out of nowhere, a thunder clap and a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, and then it turned into nighttime. There was mist around the garden, everything was dark, and the flowers seemed to wilt and turn black in the absence of the sun._

 _There were growling noises coming from all around her, and Marinette stood up in fear. She turned around and saw a giant shadow looming over her. It seemed very monstrous, the shadow itself looking like a cloud. It was staring down at her with red eyes, almost glaring at her._

 _Marinette took a step back, a little fearful. But then the eyes of the shadow beast softened and started to change colors..._

 _~Nightmare Cuts Off~_

To compound the fear, there were howling sounds echoing all over the castle, almost sounding like there was a wolf or some other creature _inside_ the walls of the building. Hearing the noise, combined with the nightmare... It was a wonder that Marinette managed to fall asleep at all that night.

Once morning broke, Luka opened the door to his bedchambers and came out looking about as exhausted as he could get. And for some reason, his clothes were ripped and torn in places. Not only that, but his hair was ruffled up, too.

"Your Highness," One of the butlers said, coming over to the prince. "...Another rough night, I assume?"

"Yeah," Luka muttered. "It's hard to keep that thing contained."

The butler gave Luka a nod, understanding what he was talking about. He went back inside his room to change clothes.

Marinette ended up sleeping in, much to her frustration. She always hated waking up late, especially if she had other projects or priorities. And that nightmare was no help.

The maids had brought her breakfast and she ate it in bed, thoroughly enjoying the delicious food. Once she had finished eating, Marinette decided that she needed a little change of scenery. So, she took her crutches and began walking around the castle.

As Marinette looked around at the castle's interior and admired the décor, she was thinking about how to incorporate it into her present for Luka.

Marinette felt her face grow warm and her heart start beating like a drum as she thought about him.

Speaking of musical instruments, she started to hear the sound of a cittern coming from outside. The music itself was calming and quiet, and it seemed to resonate with her.

Marinette let the music relax her and she started to follow the sound. As she continued to listen and follow, Marinette noticed that the sound was coming from outside.

"I wonder..." Marinette began as she saw the open door and how it led out to the gardens of the castle. Wanting to see what was making the beautiful tunes, Marinette used her crutches and kept hobbling about.

Marinette made it outside into the gardens, but her heart thumped. She recognized this garden as the exact same one from her nightmare. Shaking off the fear, though, Marinette continued to follow the music.

Sitting on a stone bench in the garden was Luka. He was playing a cittern and had a calm smile on his face. Marinette noticed that Luka looked very handsome in the sunlight, especially outdoors.

Marinette blushed a bit at the sight of the handsome prince, and just continued to listen to his music. She closed her eyes and relaxed, letting the music calm her. She nearly forgot about the pain in her foot and continued to listen.

Luka opened his eyes and saw Marinette out of his peripheral vision. He smiled at her, stopped playing, and patted the seat next to the bench while telling her, "Come and sit."

Marinette hobbled over to the bench and sat, putting her crutches down. Luka continued to play a calm, sweet tune on his cittern.

Marinette closed her eyes and continued to listen to the song. There was just something about it that made her feel so much more at ease. Not only that, but even though her surroundings were identical to that of her nightmare, she felt safe... Like the music was telling her that she was going to be okay. That everything would be alright.

"Wow... You really have a way with that cittern." Marinette said as Luka stopped.

"Thanks," Luka said. "Music sometimes gets the point across better than words."

Luka put down his cittern as Marinette smiled at him. She said, "I'm a fan of the music of one Jagged Stone."

"Me too," Luka said. "Juleka and I always make an effort to see him whenever he's around."

"Same here," Marinette said as she scooted a bit closer to Luka. "I think that this recovery period is going to be a lot of fun."

Luka chuckled as he gently took Marinette's hand into his own.

At the door to the gardens, Juleka watched the interaction between her brother and their guest. While she was happy that her brother seemed to be enjoying himself and that Marinette seemed very comfortable with him, the purple-clad princess was worried for an entirely different reason.

"Not good..." Juleka muttered.

* * *

 **Okay, chapter 2 is done! Marinette has now met the Couffaine siblings and Luka definitely has her attention. But it seems like dusk isn't necessarily their favorite time of day. Why is that? Well, you'll find out next chapter.**

 **Now remember: 15+ comments before chapter 3 gets up, okay?**


	3. Chapter 3

**In this chapter, Luka and Marinette grow closer, but it doesn't seem like Juleka's happy about it. Not because of some stupid "overprotective little sister complex," but a different reason altogether. In short, let's just say that Luka and Juleka have a few secrets that they _do not_ want to let out. Let's just hope that the truth doesn't scare Marinette off if it _does_ get out, though. **

* * *

About two to three weeks had passed since Marinette started staying at the Couffaine castle. Marinette was having a great time staying with them and found their company very nice. Juleka was easy to talk to, and Marinette found Luka to be quite attractive. He would indulge her by playing his cittern every now and again and they would talk about whatever. It made Marinette's heart go all aflutter.

It was a lot of comfort to wake up to such a happy situation. Especially since she would have the same nightmare every night. She would be sitting in the garden in the sun, listening to cittern music, but then the scene would change to the garden at night and there would be some shadow monster confronting her. But every night, the nightmare would add more pieces to the story. The first night, the nightmare continued the tale by having the monster's eyes soften towards her. The following night, the eyes changed from red to teal. After that, the shadow would start to change its shape. And most recently, the same cittern music, followed by someone's singing would flow out of the shadow, as if trying to calm Marinette down and reassure her.

She was not sure what was going on, but it was like those nightmares were trying to tell her something.

So Marinette once again woke up after having a nightmare, and as always, sleep seemed to elude her because of it. In fact, one night she was so spooked from the dream that she wound up waking up in the middle of the night. So, instead of letting her fear cloud her mind and keep her from falling asleep, Marinette decided to be productive.

She took some parchment, ink, and a quill and began writing a letter to Fortune to tell her family what had happened and that she was okay. She also talked about Luka and Juleka, how they came to her aid and were letting her rest in their castle. She spoke about how at ease she felt around them, and more. It was a breath of fresh air to see royal siblings who looked out for each other, especially since she would constantly see Sabrina at Chloé's mercy.

Once she finished her letter, she sealed it up and blew out the candle. Now that she felt more relaxed, she decided to go back to sleep and see if she could actually get through the night.

And luckily, she did. She woke up feeling a lot better and more refreshed. It was like writing that letter offloaded a lot of her worries. It certainly helped her.

"How did you sleep last night?" Juleka asked. She, Luka, and Marinette were at the dining table, eating breakfast. It consisted of bread, some marmalade, and eggs. "You look like you actually got some rest."

"Yeah, I woke up in the middle of the night again, so I decided to be productive," Marinette said, taking out the letter. "So I wrote a letter to my family, telling them everything that went down. I wanted to make sure they know that I'm okay. I didn't tell them I was going into the woods."

"Why not?" Luka asked.

"Well... The only person I told was my sister Chloé. She was the one who told me that Alya went into the woods. I told her that if anyone wanted to know where I was, that I went to find Alya, but I insisted that no guards came with me." Marinette explained.

"Why didn't you ask for backup?" Juleka asked.

"I... You know the rumors of the forest monster?" Marinette asked.

The siblings froze up for a little bit. Marinette noticed, but she brushed it off on the assumption that even they felt the rumored monster was a concern.

Luka turned to look Marinette in the eyes and he responded with, "Yes, we know the rumors."

"I didn't want to bring a crowd into the woods and gamble on the possibility of running into the creature. I didn't want to anger it. I know that it has a reputation of lulling some trespassers to sleep and then putting them back on the path, but I wasn't going to take that chance. All I wanted to do was find my friend, and there haven't been any murders reported in connection to the rumors." Marinette said as she ate a bit of her bread.

Juleka and Luka looked at each other for a brief second, not sure what else to say. Luka looked back at the princess and said, "Speaking of Alya..."

Marinette went back to looking at Luka and she asked, "Has there been any sign of her?"

"Well... No," Luka said, causing Marinette's face to fall in despair. "Maybe she never went into the woods to start with. Maybe Chloé misinformed you or even lied to you."

"...Considering how she treats people in general, I wouldn't put it past Chloé to lie to me. I was a fool to believe her," Marinette said, getting a bit angry. "If there's one thing I don't like, it's liars. Though I will admit that there are times where it's necessary."

Luka smiled at Marinette and gently put a hand on her shoulder, telling her, "Marinette."

Marinette looked back at the blue-haired prince and she blushed. The two of them kept smiling at each other, their surroundings melting away.

"Yes, Luka?" Marinette asked.

"I'll make sure that letter gets delivered ASAP," Luka said, in a soothing voice. "Don't worry."

"Thank you." Marinette said, and the two of them smiled at each other.

Juleka once again saw the look that her brother was giving Marinette, and it was clear that she was reciprocating it. And this only made Juleka more worried.

Once the trio finished eating, Marinette stood up and used her crutches to go to the sewing room to pass the time and continue working on her present to Luka. He watched her leave and he let out a wistful sigh.

"Luka," Juleka said, getting her brother's attention. "Don't get too attached to her."

Luka's face fell a bit and he nodded, understanding what Juleka was talking about. Luka lifted his hand up and looked at it before tightening it into a fist. He muttered, "Damn it..."

Juleka looked at her brother in sympathy, before saying, "No reasonable person would ask to take on this burden."

Luka nodded in agreement before sighing.

Marinette had made her way to the sewing room and with renewed conviction, she continued her project. She looked around at the other accessories and colors that were in the room and saw some buttons, badges, etc., and they all looked like they would be perfect. She was having a hard time deciding what to do with it.

However, once she laid eyes on some black and silver beads, Marinette got an idea and she said, "Yes! Perfect for a prince!"

Marinette continued to sew and started to let her creativity flow without any inhibitions.

* * *

Luka was sitting on the bed in his room playing his cittern, letting the music relax him and make him feel better. And his thoughts turned to Marinette.

She was an amazing girl. She went out of her way to help her people and friends, not the least bit worried about getting her hands dirty. She was brave enough to venture off into the woods on her own without any concern for her own safety. All she had on her mind was her friend and how much she wanted her to be safe. Not only that, but she also wanted to ensure her parents were not concerned about her, since she left without telling them anything.

Damn, Marinette was something else, and he liked her. _A lot_. Adorable, brave, selfless, kind, the list went on.

And she was a fast healer, too. It had only been a few weeks, and when the doctor came to check on her, he noted that she was healing a lot faster than he expected, much to his delight. She still needed the crutches to get about, though.

Whenever the two of them would have time alone together, they would talk, he would play music for her, and more. Luka had never enjoyed his time as much before. Whenever his royal duties did not occupy him too much, he would think about Marinette.

He knew she was into fashion, so he was unsurprised when she spent long periods of time in the sewing room. He would hear from the seamstresses that they were delighted to have the company of a princess who loved making clothes as much as they did. They found it pleasant, something else that he found attractive about her.

He wanted to do more with Marinette. Maybe once she was fully recovered they could have a dance with each other before she went back home. Or maybe he could go with her back to Fortune and ask her parents for permission to court her.

Orange light started pouring in through the window and he saw that the sun was beginning to set. He sighed and put his cittern down before muttering, "Time to let it out."

As the sun went down over the horizon, the scene panned out and howling could be heard out of Luka's room.

Once the sun had gone down, Marinette had settled down into bed to get some sleep. She had been having a lot of sleeping issues lately, since there was always a howling sound in the castle at night and she would always have nightmares. It was beginning to get to her and she wanted to get through one night without waking up in the dark or having a bad dream.

No such luck, though.

 _~Nightmare~_

 _Just like always, Marinette was sitting alone in the garden on a sunny day, listening to Luka's cittern music. Then with a thunder clap and a flash of lightning, the scene changed to the garden after dark. As she stood up to try and run away, the same shadow monster approached her. The monster's eyes softened as they looked at her, and they changed from red to teal. And the shadow started to change its shape from something unidentifiable to something a little more humanoid, but with some inhumane features. Then the cittern music continued to play, and then she heard singing coming from somewhere._

 _But then there was one more piece to the story: she continued to hear the music and the singing, but there was howling, like a wolf's howl, surrounding her. As the monster opened its mouth, Marinette fainted into the peonies and blacked out._

 _~Nightmare Cuts Off~_

Meanwhile, just like every single night since she had gotten there, there was howling in the castle, and it scared Marinette a little bit. But after a few minutes, the howling got quieter and quieter until it faded away into the distance, as if deciding to leave her alone. As soon as the howling stopped, Marinette was able to relax and fall asleep.

Once again, the group was at breakfast and they were talking about nothing in particular. But Marinette was having a hard time following the conversation because she was so tired from the lack of sleep _and_ she was bothered by her nightmares. In fact, she was so tired that she was about to fall asleep on the table and let her face plant into her food.

"...Marinette?" Luka asked.

"Oh, yes?" Marinette said, picking her head back up.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at Marinette with concern lacing his eyes. "You look like you're pretty out of it."

"Yeah, you don't seem fully alert." Juleka said.

"I... I haven't been sleeping well," Marinette admitted. "I keep hearing howling noises at night."

Juleka and Luka looked at each other, as if this piece of information bothered them.

"Not only that, but I've been having nightmares every night, too," Marinette said. "And it's all the same. I'm sitting in the garden here in the castle, listening to cittern music, but all of a sudden it turns dark and then I'm confronted by a shadow beast of some kind. And every night the nightmare has parts of the story added... The best's eyes change color, I hear music again..."

"Are you sure you aren't just spooked about the monster in the woods?" Juleka asked.

"Well, I don't know about that. I'm not even sure if there's a monster to begin with," Marinette said, putting her spoon down. "But... It's like these dreams are trying to tell me something. Like they're saying, "Yes, there's a monster here, but you're in no danger whatsoever." But... I'm not sure about what any of this means."

The siblings once again gave each other a knowing glance, both a little worried.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Luka said, taking Marinette's hand into his own. "You're going to be okay."

Marinette smiled and gave Luka a nod, saying, "Thank you."

The two of them blushed before shyly looking away. Juleka once again gave the pair an upset look.

"Say, Marinette," Luka said as he finished eating and then stood up. "How does a walk around the gardens sound?"

"I think it sounds lovely," Marinette said as she took one last bite of bread and then took her crutches to stand up. "Especially on a gorgeous day like today."

Luka started leading Marinette out of the dining room, leaving Juleka at the table. Once again, she was looking at the pair with worry and she murmured, "Shit..."

As Marinette and Luka walked through the gardens, their eyes were only on each other. Luka saw a few marigolds in one of the patches. He walked over to the plants and picked one. He went back over to Marinette and slipped the marigold behind her ear.

"Oh..." Marinette began, blushing and looking at Luka with a smile. Luka smiled back in response.

The two of them were getting close and Marinette had no objections to the warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart towards the blue-haired prince.

"I really wish your recovery time would end." Luka said, earning an affronted and upset expression from Marinette. But once he noticed this, his face fell.

"What does that mean?" Marinette asked, not sure what Luka was trying to tell her.

"I can't bear to see you like this," Luka elaborated. "It must be annoying, having to walk around with your crutches like that day in and day out."

"Oh, that's what you meant," Marinette said, blushing from Luka's consideration. "Yeah, I'm getting tired of these crutches."

"I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine once you're fully healed," Luka said, patting Marinette on the head. "You're not the type who stays down for very long."

Marinette's blush grew deeper at the consideration and she said, "Thanks, Luka."

The two of them kept looking at each other affectionately. The aroma of the blooms in the area made them feel more relaxed, but otherwise they were completely oblivious to their surroundings. Luka started to slowly lean in close to Marinette, a smile upon his lips.

"Your Highness," A voice said, interrupting the moment. Luka saw one of the butlers was at the door that separated the castle from the gardens. "You have a conference call."

"Coming," Luka said before turning back to Marinette. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay," Marinette said, not paying the news any mind. "I'll get back to the sewing room, then."

Luka gave Marinette a nod before leaving the gardens. Marinette followed suit before splitting off to head upstairs to the seamstress' quarters. She still had some more details to put into her present for Luka and she wanted to make sure it was her very best work yet.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw some of the other seamstresses were working on a few pieces of their own.

"Oh, hello there, Your Highness!" One of the seamstresses said in formal greeting. "How may we be of service to you?"

"There's no need for formalities," Marinette said with a smile. "I just wanted to ask if you could help me find some silver or teal thread, black fabrics and other items I can use?"

"Why certainly, Your Highness," The seamstress said with delight. "We have a variety of things to use in silver or black."

"That's perfect!" Marinette said. "I'm going to need quite a few parts for the project, and some help since I can't bend or stretch with this foot."

 _"At your service, Your Highness!"_ The seamstresses said collectively. Marinette giggled at the formality and loyalty the women portrayed and had to wonder why such an easygoing royal family needed such a massive staff.

"Thank you very much," Marinette said before turning to the head seamstress. "And thank you for telling me Luka's measurements earlier. It's been a big help."

"It was my pleasure," The head seamstress said. "His Highness has been much perkier since your arrival, Princess."

"Oh?" Marinette asked, blushing in flattery.

"Why yes," Another seamstress piped up. "The night he brought you back into the castle, it was something out of a romance novel. He came inside, carrying you like you were his bride, easily holding you in his strong, ha-"

A third woman jabbed her coworker in the side before continuing where she left off, saying, "His strong, _handsome_ arms!"

"Yes, yes," The first seamstress agreed. "And he looked so concerned about you, romantically gazing at you with wo-"

" _Worried_ eyes," The head seamstress said. "He was so gentle, even though his hands had c-"

" _Callouses_ from all his cittern playing!" Another seamstress cut in, before subtly cuing the others with her eyes, as if trying to convey some sort of warning.

"Really?" Marinette asked, picking up on something a little off in the conversation.

"Why yes," The fourth seamstress said. "I often fantasize about a man sweeping me up into his embrace. _*Sigh*_..."

"Wow, that sounds really romantic," Marinette said, trying not to give away that she was a little suspicious of their conversation. "Did Luka really do all of that?"

"He did indeed," The head seamstress said. "So I'm sure that he'll be grateful for your present to him!"

Marinette, remembering why she was there in the first place, said, "In that case, I'd better get back to it."

She hobbled over to her designated seat and continued her project.

While she was not looking, the seamstresses immediately breathed a sigh of relief and got back to work.

Marinette took some black beads and started to thread them on to some silver thread. She took the needle and started to sew the beads on to the teal fabric that she had found.

But as she continued to think about Luka, the earlier conversation seemed to creep back into her mind. The princess thought there was definitely something weird going on.

Marinette tried not to pay it any mind, thinking that it was just paranoia. She just got back to sewing the outfit as a way to distract herself.

"Okay, maybe some embroidery here, a few beads over there..." Marinette muttered as she kept sewing into the teal fabric.

* * *

A about an hour or two later, Juleka had paid a visit to her brother's room. She knocked on the door and said, "Luka? Are you in here?"

"Is that you, Juleka? Come on in." Luka said. His sister opened the door and walked inside.

Luka's room looked like the staff had not come around to clean it in a while, just to put it nicely. The room had shredded drapes, broken furniture lying around, and several pieces of torn/shredded clothing on the floor. not only that, but some of the decorations in the room got battered up, too. The only real thing that was intact was the bed Luka was sitting on and the cittern he was holding.

"So... I see you and Marinette are getting close." Juleka murmured.

Luka nodded with a smile as he strummed his cittern.

"She's amazing." Luka said, sighing a little bit.

Juleka only frowned at this comment, and she told her brother, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Luka looked to his sister and asked, "...You're worried, aren't you?"

Juleka nodded and murmured a little bit. Her brother always had a good read on people.

Marinette had just about finished her project, but she wore herself out getting so much work done. She had completed a big chunk of it and wanted to get back to her room. She needed a break.

"Okay, once I get back to my room, I need a nap," Marinette muttered before yawning. "I've lost a lot of sleep lately."

Marinette walked passed one ornate door, not paying attention.

"...It isn't safe." Juleka murmured.

Marinette paused after hearing that. She turned around and noticed that it sounded like Juleka was in Luka's bedroom, and it seemed that they were having some sort of conversation.

"...I know it isn't," Luka said, a bit sadly. "But I think we're okay. Marinette hasn't caught on."

Hearing her name, Marinette realized she was the topic of the conversation. Curious, discreetly placed her ear against the door to try and figure out what they were talking about.

"Not yet, at least," Juleka murmured. "I'm worried that we won't be able to hide it much longer. Especially since her nightmares are hinting at it."

"We can't have her knowing about it, I get it." Luka grimly said.

"Then we should probably send her home as soon as she's able to walk without the crutches." Juleka suggested.

"No," Luka insisted. "She's not going anywhere until she's _fully_ recovered."

"Why are you so insistent about letting her stay?" Juleka asked. "The longer she's here, the more likely she's going to find out."

There was a pregnant silence for about five or ten seconds. Luka did not make any efforts to answer his sister's question.

"I really like her," Luka admitted bashfully. "She's funny, beautiful, brave... I've never met a girl like her before."

Marinette blushed, flattered that Luka felt that way about her. It made her feel special. Not only that, but he did not even bring up the fact that she was a princess. She had to smile, overjoyed at the compliments. But then she remembered she was eavesdropping.

"Neither have I. And I don't blame you for falling for her. But that doesn't change the fact that she's an outsider," Juleka solemnly said. "We can't let her learn about our skeleton in the closet."

Marinette instantly pulled herself away from the door, refusing to listen any more. She probably heard too much already. So, she decided to hobble all the way back to her room and hopefully avoid getting caught.

Inside the bedroom, Luka looked at his sister. He was having second thoughts about keeping their secret, well, secret.

"Would it matter if she finds out, though?" Luka asked bitterly. "I don't think she'd care or think any different of us if she knew the whole story."

Juleka looked at her brother and saw that he looked forlorn. After looking him over for a little while, Juleka had figured out what was going on with her brother: he had fallen in love with Marinette and did not want their time together to end.

"...You don't want her to leave, do you?" Juleka asked before sitting down on the bed next to Luka.

"...Yeah. I want her to stay." Luka conceded before playing a sad tune on his cittern to reflect his disdain over the situation.

Once she made it back to her room, Marinette slowly began to realize that there was _definitely_ something strange afoot. She first picked up on it when the seamstresses were talking about the night Luka brought her. During the conversation, it seemed like they were trying to cover something up.

Now that she thought about, Luka and Juleka definitely had their moments of strange behavior, too. It was mostly be the two of them freezing up whenever the forest monster was mentioned in conversation. Not only that, but Luka always seemed to get a bit antsy near sunset and he would excuse himself to his room. Marinette would not see him again until the next morning. Other than that, she felt nothing other than safe around Luka.

But after overhearing the siblings talking about some huge secret, Marinette started to think that maybe they _were_ trying to keep something on the down low. The question was what.

What was going on? What was the big secret they were hiding? And if there was a connection between the secret and the forest beast, what was it?

* * *

Later on at lunch, Marinette was quiet. She was still thinking about what Luka and Juleka were trying to hide. The siblings seemed to be acting normal, as if nothing was amiss.

 _'What could they be hiding from me?'_ Marinette thought as she absentmindedly ate her soup and bread. She was a little too preoccupied to actually eat, and her sleep deprivation was no help, either.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Juleka quietly asked, getting the attention of the princess.

"I... I'm fine, but..." Marinette began, as she looked over to the royal siblings. She kept looking between Luka and Juleka and wondered how or if she should broach the subject.

Luka, always able to read people, took Marinette's hand and he gently prodded, "It's okay. You can tell me anything."

That was what got Marinette to be able to talk freely. She gave Luka a blank, yet annoyed expression and asked, "Is that so? Then how come there have been things that _you're_ not telling _me?_ "

At that comment, Luka and Juleka visibly flinched.

"What are you talking about, Marinette?" Juleka asked, trying to play dumb.

"...There's something that you've been hiding from me," Marinette sadly said. "The nightmares I've been having; Luka constantly going to his room before sunset. Even the seamstresses seem to be keeping something from me. Something they don't seem too happy about."

Juleka was trying not to panic. Luka on the other hand, was visibly calm and was looking at Marinette with a pained, guilty expression on his face. He tried to reach for her shoulder, but Marinette just stood up from her seat.

"I can understand you being uncomfortable with letting me know certain things," Marinette said as she picked up her crutches. "I'm merely an _outsider_ , after all."

"Marinette, please!" Luka said as he stood up to try and get Marinette to stay. "You're our guest, not an outsider."

But she merely ignored Luka and started walking back to her room, completely tuning Luka out. Once she left the dining room, Luka slumped back into his seat, not happy about the new turn of events.

"Do you think she overheard us?" Juleka asked.

"I'm certain of it," Luka said, sighing in annoyance. "I wonder, though: how much did she hear?"

"At least enough to know that I called her an outsider," Juleka murmured sadly. "But you're right: she's a guest. So what do we do?"

"What indeed?" Luka asked, frustrated.

The siblings fell silent as they pondered this new development. Marinette was starting to get suspicious, so what were their options? Find a way to throw her off the trail, or just tell her the truth?

"Marinette _did_ say that she doesn't like liars..." Juleka murmured. Then, another maid came by to serve more food to the royals. She was wearing a pink uniform, had large, baby blue eyes, and short blonde hair. She and Juleka made eye contact, and then they both blushed a little bit.

"Thank you, Rose." Luka said as the pink-clad servant handed Luka another piece of bread.

As Rose walked away, Juleka watched as she left before turning back to her brother.

"Maybe it's best to just... Come out with it." Juleka said, still glancing at Rose.

Luka did not miss the glances that Rose and Juleka were making, but made no move to say anything about it.

"...You're probably right, Juleka." Luka said with a smile. He was actually telling Juleka to hurry and tell Rose how she felt, though he was too focused on his situation with Marinette to think about that at the moment.

On her part, Marinette was walking the halls to go back to her bedroom. She was having a hard time forgetting about what she had overheard. And to make her feel even worse, it did not seem like Luka or Juleka had any intention of telling her anything. That said, she knew that they had their right to privacy, so she tried her best not to get too upset about it.

She yawned loudly, realizing that her lack of sleep was really starting to get to her. Almost every time she was in the sewing room, she would be running on what little fuel she had, be it food or rest. So, she decided that it was best to _force herself_ to nap and get some of her energy back, no matter what it cost her.

Marinette opened the door to her room and made a beeline for the bed. After silently praying to the gods to let her get a good night's sleep for once, she put the crutches down, got on the bed, elevated her foot properly, and then she laid down. She was so exhausted that she immediately fell asleep.

 _~Nightmare~_

 _Yet again, Marinette was sitting on a bench and listening to cittern music in the castle gardens on a sunny day. As per the usual story, thunder and lightning cracked and the scene turned dark while the music was cut. Marinette stood up and turned around to confront a shadow monster that was glaring at her. The beast's eyes softened and turned teal, and the shadow started to change shape into something more human and safe. Not only that, but once again cittern music and singing was flowing around, trying to calm Marinette and make her feel more secure._

 _And again, holding was being heard, but this time it was quiet enough that it could be heard, but it was not ruining the surrounding music._

 _Marinette looked at the shadow beast and its shape turned into a silhouette of a boy, and the shadow's eyes turned into those of a human. And she was sure she had seen those eyes before._

 _"Marinette... You're safe. I promise you that you're safe." A voice said - a_ very familiar _voice._

 _Recognizing who was talking to her, Marinette chanced to ask, "Wait a second... Are you...?"_

 _~Nightmare Cuts Off~_

But the nightmare once again interrupted itself, but since Marinette's nightmare assured her that she was going to be okay, she finally fell asleep for real... But not without another question on her mind. Who was the boy in her nightmare? She had a hunch, but she was a little worried about confirming it.

Regardless, Marinette finally drifted off to sleep, feeling relaxed and safe.

The door to her room quietly opened, and Luka silently walked in. He tiptoed to Marinette's bed and quietly looked her over. She looked so peaceful and too sweet to be disturbed. Regardless, he smiled and gently started to stroke her head, being careful not to wake her.

"Marinette..." Luka muttered, before gently moving her bangs away. He slowly leaned down and planted a soft kiss on to Marinette's forehead.

As if sensing the affection, Marinette smiled in response, and sighed contentedly. Luka smiled a little wider and then he left the bedroom. She needed her sleep, and he was not about to stick around long enough to deprive her of it.

A few hours later, Marinette woke up, being triggered by the light of the sun. Marinette sat up in her bed and looked out the window, seeing that dusk was upon them.

"Wow... I must have slept for longer than I thought... And I feel so much better." Marinette said to herself.

Seeing the sunset reminded her that she should probably talk to Luka. After all, she just left him in the dining room after getting on his case about hiding a secret. Now that she had a much-needed nap, she had a clearer mind. She realized that even if he had a secret, it was his right to keep it if it made him feel comfortable. She should have been more sensitive to his emotional needs.

"What was I thinking?" Marinette asked herself. "I don't feel like I'm going to be hurt or in any danger when I'm around Luka. I should go and apologize to him..."

She then remembered that she had finished her present to him and said, "Aha! Luka should be in his bedroom right now, so I can bring him my present and use it to apologize!"

Marinette immediately got out of her bed, grabbed her crutches and started to walk out of the bedroom to go the seamstress' quarters and get her gift for Luka.

Speaking of the teal-haired prince, he was sitting in his room and looking at the sky. The sun was setting, and Luka was dreading what would happen once it got completely dark out.

As the light started to dim, Luka grit his teeth and started to groan a little, pain pulsating through his body.

Right then, there was a knock at the door. The timing could not have been any worse.

"Luka, are you in there? It's Marinette." Marinette asked.

"Marinette? What are you doing here?" Luka asked, startled that she would be here. He looked outside and saw that the sun was almost completely set and he looked at his hand.

"I wanted to talk to you and give you something." Marinette said, sounding a bit nervous.

"Please! Now's not the right time!" Luka said, almost sounding like he was upset with her.

"What? Why?" Marinette asked from outside the door, holding on to a bundle that she had brought. She was confused, since he had never shut her out like this before. "Are you angry with me?"

"No! No, I'm not mad. I just..." Luka said from inside his room. But in that second, the sun was beneath the horizon and something in him snapped. _"GAAAAAAAH!"_

Hearing that scream, Marinette dropped what she was holding and burst into the room, shouting, "Luka! What's going...?!"

She saw Luka kneeling on the floor of his bedroom, gripping his head. From what Marinette could see through the limited light in the room, Luka's fingernails seemed to be growing longer and sharper, and he seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"Luka!" Marinette shouted as she tried to get closer to the prince to try and help him.

"Stay back!" Luka shouted as he looked up at the princess.

Almost as if on cue, thunder clapped and lightning flashed. Wind started to howl outside, too.

Marinette gasped. She saw that Luka's eyes were not the usual warm, bright teal that they normally were. Yes, they were the same color, but they looked like they belonged to a wolf instead of a human. And Marinette was right about his hands: the fingernails were turning into claws. Not only that, but his teal-tipped black hair was growing and the top turned into wolf ears. Luka slowly opened his mouth to reveal that his canines had gotten longer.

She took a step back as Luka stood up. His musculature got more noticeable and a lot larger all over his body. The extra mass ripped the clothes he was wearing at the seams and his pants were ripped. Not only that, but his hands and feet turned into those belonging to a large animal, most likely a wolf, too. Luka grew taller by about two feet, and his face started to turn more wolf-like with features that were still clearly human. He grew black-teal scales on his forearms and lower legs, from his knees down to his ankles. Black fur grew around the scales and all the way from the elbows and knees up to his shoulders and around his entire body, aside from his neck where more scales had appeared. A fair amount of fur grew on his face, but his mouth and nose were left alone. And a large tail, which was black with a teal tip sprouted out near his rear.

Marinette gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Her eyes were wide and tears were streaming down her face in fear as she looked over Luka.

"Marinette..." Luka said, his voice sounding a lot deeper and raspier than usual. Still, it sounded remorseful.

"Y-You're..." Marinette stammered, not sure what to make of this.

He reached out to her with a clawed hand, but seeing the sharp nails on his hands, he pulled back.

"Luka... What in the world...?" Marinette said, her voice just above a whisper.

She was breathing heavily in shock, completely scared. But at the same time, the man-beast or whatever was standing in front of her made no move to attack.

"...I guess I have no choice," Luka said sadly. "Forgive me, Marinette. I promise that you'll know the truth."

"What do you...?!" Marinette began to ask, but then Luka started to vocalize a little bit.

Like when she was in the forest, mist started to conceal the pair in the room. At the sound of Luka's enchanting singing voice, the princess was overcome with drowsiness. She began to faint, and with his enhanced reflexes, Luka caught the princess in his arms and lifted her up in a bridal carry.

"I never wanted you to find out like this, _mon cher_." Luka murmured into Marinette's ear, trying to reassure her and make her feel safe again.

Marinette's eyes were focused on Luka, but her vision was blurry. But his soothing voice made her feel so much better that she wound up blacking out.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! Chapter 3 is done and now chapter 4 is coming along. Marinette's in for the shock of a lifetime when she finds out the entire story in the next chapter.**

 **Speaking of the next chapter, let's shoot for about 22+ reviews before I post it, okay?**


	4. Chapter 4

**And now it's time for the proverbial skeleton to be let out of the closet.**

 **Before we start, I think I should try to explain exactly what type of monster Luka is. The best way to describe it is that Luka is primarily a werewolf with some merman traits, and he has no control over his transformation into a wolf-humanoid creature. Not only that, but the usual weaknesses for werewolves don't exist here (silver bullets for example), and he transforms into his monster form after sunset _every night_ , not during a full moon. If you've been paying attention to the singing and musical references in Marinette's dreams _and_ in the first chapter, you'll see that the merman traits are similar to that of the sirens from Greek Mythology, in that his singing voice is soothing and very enchanting, to the point of hypnotic. And yes, there _were_ male sirens, but I guess they got phased out from literature over time. **

**Anyway, in this chapter, Luka explains everything to Marinette, and the two of them grow closer as a result. This chapter contains the song "Strange Magic" from the titular film.  
**

* * *

Back in Fortune, Tom and Sabine had gotten the letter. They were confused about why a letter from Lumière Kingdom would arrive all of a sudden. And they felt like any issues with Lumière Kingdom should take the backseat, especially since they were still worried about Marinette. But once they broke the seal, the greeting in the letter had their full attention.

 _Mom and Dad,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. This is Marinette. I wanted to explain to you what had happened, as I'm certain you must be worried about me._

 _Chloé had told me that Alya had ventured into the border woods to see if the myths about the monster were true. Since it had gotten dark out and I wanted to make sure I did not run into the beast, I went out into the woods after her alone. I told Chloé that if anyone asked, let them know where I went, but don't send any help. But I'm hopeful that Alya is back safe and sound at the castle by now._

 _Anyway, I had gotten lost in the woods at night and my lamp had broken. Luckily for me, Prince Luka of_ _Lumière had found me while I was unconscious and he brought me back to his castle, where I'm currently staying. I would have returned right away to continue the search for Alya, but I broke my foot._

 _The doctor had told me that it's going to take about a month or so to heal. But Prince Luka and his sister Princess Juleka are being so kind to me, letting me stay in their castle during my recovery. Not only is Luka kind, but he's handsome and so utterly charming. And we have a lot in common, like being big fans of the minstrel Jagged Stone. Speaking of music, you should hear Luka when he's playing his cittern, he's amazing!_

 _Honestly... I think I may be falling in love with Luka. Whenever we're spending time with each other, I feel happy, warm, comfortable, and most importantly, safe. It's like Lady Luck just decided to dump the perfect man on me as a reward for facing danger to find Alya. Once I'm fully recovered, I'm going to insist that he comes back to Fortune with me so he can meet you, Chloé and Sabrina! I'm sure that you'll like him._

 _Regards, Marinette_

"What a relief," Sabine said, reaching a sigh of relief and smiling at her husband. "Marinette is okay and she'll be back soon."

"I was so worried that monster got our daughter." Tom said.

"And it sounds like this Luka character has her attention. Looks like we won't need to hold a ball to find suitors for Marinette after all." Alya said, giggling. Tom and Sabine laughed along.

"But now I wonder... Why on Earth would Chloé lie to Marinette about you going into the woods?" Sabine asked.

Alya scowled and said, "I think I might have an idea. I'll bet that Chloé wanted the forest monster to be real and sent Marinette into the woods hoping that the beast would kill her. Wouldn't surprise me."

"That's very possible, Alya." Sabine said, crossing her arms.

"We'll get to the bottom of this when Marinette comes back," Tom said. "For now, we can relax knowing that she's safe."

"I can't wait to meet Prince Luka!" Alya said. "He's got to be something special if Marinette's smitten with him. And judging by her letter, I can understand why. She's always had a soft spot for nice, reserved boys."

"He certainly sounds like an upstanding young man to me, especially since he's going out of his way to make sure Marinette is recovering from her injury," Tom agreed. "In fact, I'll bet that he's playing his cittern for her while she's lying in her bed right at this very moment!"

Oh, he had no idea how _wrong_ he was.

* * *

Marinette woke up while feeling dizzy, and she found herself lying on a different bed. As she sat up and looked around, she realized that she was not in her room. In fact, the room she found herself in was an absolute mess. There were claw marks and torn drapes everywhere.

"Are you okay?" Luka asked. He was sitting on the floor with his back up against the bed, not looking Marinette in the eyes.

Marinette looked at Luka, about to ask him the same question when a flashback of the occurrence from the previous night flashed through her mind. The claws, the teeth, the singing, the fur...

Marinette started to shiver in minor fear, but she willed it away. This was Luka, her prince, surely what happened last night was only a figment of her imagination... Right?

"Luka... Was I dreaming last night?" Marinette timidly asked. "That you were a... Wolf of some kind?"

Luka heaved a resigned sigh and said, "...No. That was no dream."

Marinette's eyes widened in shock and she pulled away a little bit before saying, "No... No, it can't be!"

"I'm afraid it is," Luka said, standing up and turning around to face Marinette, remorse and sadness in his eyes. "Everything you saw last night was no joke."

Marinette gasped and covered her mouth. Luka made no move to touch her or anything like that. In fact, he seemed rather ashamed of this revelation.

"Wh... What's going on here?" Marinette asked, about to panic.

Luka once again sighed sadly and said, "I guess I owe you an explanation."

Marinette nodded, gently prompting Luka to go on.

"You know that supposed monster in the forest?" Luka asked, not looking Marinette in the eyes.

"Yes," Marinette said. "Luka... You...?"

Luka gave a nod and sadly said, "Yes, _I'm_ that monster."

Marinette gasped, covering her mouth with her hand and then she asked, "B-B-But that can't be! You _can't_ be! That monster's supposedly been in the forest for centuries! You don't look to be much older than I am!"

"You're right. Truth is, my family has been under a curse for generations," Luka said, before raising a hand to examine it. "We change into this... _Monster_... Whenever the sun sets. We become something of a cross between a merman and a werewolf. We get all the animal-like characteristics of werewolves, but we have the singing powers of mermen. Man by day, beast by night if you will."

Marinette was silent for a few seconds and then asked, "Then the reports of a monster hurting people in the woods..."

"I hate to tell you this, but there _is_ a shred of truth to those reports." Luka said, averting his eyes.

"Luka, that's not like you. You don't strike me as the type to hurt someone." Marinette protested.

"Well, not as a human, but as that beast, well... I guess I get a little more feral when it happens, as you can see by my room," Luka explained. "Whenever I transform, I always go out into the woods to just let my more... _monstrous_ urges out. And sadly, sometimes people get caught in the crossfire."

"You didn't...!" Marinette gasped, her eyes widening.

Luka sadly nodded and said, "I did. I _have_ hurt people. But these were folks who thought I was some sort of demon and tried to attack and kill me out of fear and hate while I was just minding my own business. I don't pick fights myself."

"So you were just defending yourself?" Marinette asked.

"Yup." Luka said.

"What about the other reports about the monster "kicking people out" by lulling them to sleep?" Marinette asked, using air quotes about kicking people out.

"Just travelers who got lost and didn't _want_ to run into me. I just put them to sleep with my singing and then brought them back to the path without hurting them." Luka explained.

That explained everything else, but there was one question that was plaguing her mind that she just wanted an answer to.

"And _me?_ " Marinette asked. "What made _my_ situation different?"

"Well... Mostly the latter," Luka admitted. "When I'm in wolf form, my senses are really enhanced. I could hear you screaming for Alya from the other side of the forest. You sounded so scared and worried, so I went to check it out. When I saw you under that tree, shivering for warmth and nursing that foot of yours... I couldn't leave you. Not just that, but you were just so enchanting. I couldn't just dump you back on the path, especially not with that foot. So, I took you back to the castle, and... You know the rest. I'm nothing less than a monster..."

After that, Luka turned his head away from Marinette, unable to look her in the eyes, especially after offloading all this information on her. Surely, she was disgusted with him, right?

Marinette was pale as a ghost for a little while, but as this revelation sunk in, she started to process the situation. Everything she had been experiencing in her dreams was all starting to make perfect sense. They were "warning" her that she was in the company of the forest beast, but she was in no danger. Sure, Luka being the beast was a major secret that she had unwittingly found out, but he still took the time to take care of her and check in on her. He took her in when she was hurt and tended to her needs. He played the cittern for her whenever there was down time. He always made her feel safe and secure, not to mention happy and loved.

So calling him a monster? That was a _huge_ stretch.

"Honestly, Luka... You're only a monster in the loosest sense of the word." Marinette said, getting the prince's attention. She was able to look at him without any fear.

"Really?" Luka asked, not expecting that reaction out of Marinette.

"Really," Marinette confirmed with a nod. She swung her legs out from the bed and gave Luka a smile. "A _real_ monster would just terrorize and attack people for fun and revel in the pain that was caused. A _real_ monster would have just taken advantage of someone's misfortune of getting lost and hurt them. A _real_ monster would have just killed and eaten a lost and injured girl. You didn't do any of that."

Luka smiled, relieved that Marinette saw him like this.

Marinette took her crutches and stood up from the bed. She took a few steps closer to Luka and gently placed a hand against his cheek.

"And honestly... If you really _were_ a monster... I don't think I would've ever felt so happy here, or have grown to like you so much." Marinette said with a blush on her face.

She kept smiling at him, no trace of fear in her eyes. Luka was so happy that Marinette's opinion of him did not change even though his secret got out.

"Marinette..." Luka said, as he slowly began to lean in towards the princess. He gently took her chin in his fingers and smiled at her.

Marinette, blushing with affection, gave him a nod. Luka immediately took action and he planted his lips on to Marinette's. He wrapped his arm around her waist while Marinette tangled her hands in his hair. The two of them held their kiss until they needed to breathe.

Always been one to read people, Luka said, "I'm so glad that you're not afraid of me."

"After the way you've treated me? I don't think I ever _could_ be scared." Marinette said as she rested her head against his chest.

Luka gave a nod, gently patting her head. They stood there for a few quiet moments, just happy to know that everything was out in the open.

"...Does anyone else know about this?" Marinette asked.

"Only my family and the castle staff," Luka said sadly. "We can't have the public in Lumière panicking over the royal family comprising of "monsters." And I don't know how to break the curse. It was placed on my ancestor about six generations ago, maybe further back."

"So you're stuck like this?" Marinette inquired.

"Pretty much, but I'd accepted it a long time ago, so don't worry about me." Luka said with a smile, once again giving her forehead a loving kiss.

Marinette sighed, resigned and relaxed at the same time. She then remembered something and said, "That's right! I wanted to give you something! I dropped it outside the door."

"Oh, I'll get it," Luka said as he went to the door and opened it. He kneeled down at the pile of clothing and unraveled it. He smiled brightly before turning back to Marinette. "Marinette... You're really something else, aren't you?"

Marinette blushed as Luka picked up his present and brought back inside the room. Luka put the present down on his bed and once again gave Marinette a big hug. Marinette hugged back, absolutely delighted that Luka was happy with the gift she made for him.

* * *

Later on, Luka was walking through the halls, humming along and feeling much more confident.

"Luka," Juleka said as she approached her brother. "You seem to be in a good mood. What happened?"

Luka had told Juleka about what had happened. Juleka was a bit worried that her brother had gotten rejected, but judging by his behavior, everything went well.

"Marinette doesn't care about our little secret," Luka chuckled. "In fact, I think we've grown closer now that the secret's out."

Juleka sighed in relief, saying, "That's good. Now there's nothing stopping you from staying out past sunset with her around."

Luka gave a nod and smile while saying, "Yeah... Maybe tonight would be a great night for a date."

Juleka smiled in response and said, "Good idea."

After that, the rest of the day went by uneventfully. The group was once again eating dinner in the dining room, and the conversations were more lively and engaging. Not only that, but this time neither Juleka nor Luka were looking at the sky to keep track of the dusk. There was no need for it anymore.

"So, Marinette," Luka asked as he ate some of his pheasant. "I was wondering: would you like to go out into the woods with me tonight?"

"The woods? Tonight?" Marinette asked, eating a bite of bread. "Are you sure about that? My foot..."

"You're almost fully healed," Luka said with a smile. "And I'll carry you. I want to show you how beautiful the forest is as night."

Marinette was a little nervous about going back into the woods, especially after dark. The last time she did that, she was lucky the broken foot was the only injury she sustained. She could have gotten a lot worse.

Luka, picking up on her anxiety, gently took her hand into his and said, "Don't worry, Marinette. You'll be safe with me."

At that reassurance, Marinette returned Luka's smile and she said, "I don't doubt it. So, I'm more than happy to come along with you tonight."

Juleka cracked a smile at seeing her brother and Marinette together. It made her feel an immense amount of relief. Like a weight of immense proportions had been lifted.

Once the group had finished dinner, Luka brought Marinette back to his bedroom. Dusk was upon them.

"What are we doing back here? I thought we were going into the forest." Marinette asked.

"Things aren't always what they seem," Luka said as he went over to his large grandfather clock. "Check this out."

He moved the hands on the face of the clock until it hit midnight and then there were a few loud clicking sounds, as if some sort of mechanism had been activated.

The clock slid to the right, revealing a large entryway that led to a staircase.

"Wow, that's incredible." Marinette said as she approached her prince.

"I know. I don't know the history behind this thing, but apparently it was installed when the curse was first cast as a way for those affected to get out of the castle in secret. But if you think this is cool, just wait until you see what it's like outside." Luka chuckled.

The sun fully set, and Luka underwent his nightly transformation. Marinette had to admit that seeing Luka like this was going to take some time to get used to.

He held out his hand, and Marinette took it without fear. Luka then gently led her down the stairway, but there were no lights. Luka seemed to be doing just fine without it, so she just followed his lead, trusting him.

"Night vision?" Marinette asked.

"Yep," Luka said with a nod. "Comes with the territory of being a werewolf-merman hybrid."

There was some light nearing the end of the staircase. It was a dim light, but it was enough for Marinette to know that they were almost outside the castle.

They were at the edge of the forest and Marinette could see how beautiful it was just from the outside. But then again, these trees still had their leaves and there were still some animals around, so she was not that nervous.

"Wow..." Marinette whispered in awe.

"Come on, follow me." Luka said, continuing to lead Marinette by the hand and he started to bring her through the forest. She was still trying to be mindful of her foot.

Noticing that she was hesitating because of her injury, Luka turned back to her and gave her a smile. He kneeled down, put his hands behind his back, looked at Marinette and said, "Get on."

Realizing he was going to give her a piggyback ride, Marinette smiled and climbed on.

Luka stood up and he started to walk through the woods with the princess on his back. Marinette kept looking around at the scenery. She saw a nest belonging to a northern long-eared owl up in one of the trees. The nest had a few chicks, and the mother owl had just come back with food for the babies.

Marinette smiled and she wrapped her arms around Luka's neck. She began to sing softly.

 _"You're waking meadows in my mind. Making waves across my tide. Oh no... Oh no..."_ Marinette sang, with Luka chuckling at her hands on him.

Marinette saw a few leaves and raised her hand to brush them. As her hand hit the leaves, whatever dew was left was flung off, and the water droplets sparkled in the dim light.

 _"I got a strange magic... Oh what a..."_ Marinette began.

 _"Strange magic. Oh it's a... Strange magic. I got a strange magic."_ The pair sang together.

Several nocturnal birds were up in the trees, watching the pair. Eurasian eagle-owls, more northern long-eared owls, and a few little owls. Not only that, but there were some other night creatures watching them, such as bats and crickets.

The animals had always held reverence for Luka, so they were curious about the girl that was with him. They knew it was not his sister, so who was she? Whoever she was, she must be someone very special. Special enough for Luka to bring her out into the woods at night. Some of the creatures recognized her from when Luka first brought her back to his home. Some of them started communicating with each other, gossiping about the princess.

Luka brought her to a clearing in the woods, and in front of them was a pretty big gulley between them and the next part of the woods.

Luka smiled and took a few steps back. He looked to Marinette to signal that she needed to hang on, and she smiled and gave a nod. She clutched closer.

 _"You're..."_ Luka sang, as he started on a run and then jumped over the gulley. They hung in mid-air a while as he sang, _"Sailing softly through the sun (softly through the sun)."_

He landed on the other side, sticking the landing and bending his legs. He gently set Marinette down, turned to face her, and gestured to the surrounding area, singing, _"Of a land I've always known. You fly (you fly) so high (so high)."_

Luka took Marinette's hand, and being mindful of her foot, they continued on to another part of the woods.

 _"I get a..."_ Luka crooned, while Marinette sang along with him.

 _"Strange magic. Oh, what a strange magic. Oh, it's a strange magic. Got a strange magic."_ Luka and Marinette sang together as he led her through some trees.

 _"Oh I..."_ Marinette sang, with Luka singing in round.

The pair looked at each other and sang, _"Never gonna be the same again (Never gonna be the same again)."_

Marinette looked around at all the fireflies dancing around them, and she had to blush. It was such a romantic setting that she could not help but giggle a little bit.

 _"Now I've seen the way it's got to end (got to end)."_ Marinette sang, as Luka pushed some branches aside to show Marinette a large spider's web.

belonging to a female European black widow. Said spider was on the web itself, and was ready to bite her intruders. But once she saw that it was the prince and his guest, she crawled up to the far corner of the web.

 _"Sweet dreams (sweet dreams)."_ Marinette sang as she took in all the dew hanging from the web.

 _"Sweet dreams."_ They sang together as Marinette leaned into Luka's chest while he put his arm around her shoulders.

As if on cue, the clouds parted and the full moon's light shined onto the dew on the web. The droplets sparkled and Marinette was looking on in delight.

 _"Got a strange magic,"_ The lovers sang together as Marinette lifted her hand to see if she could catch the dewdrops. _"Oh what a strange magic."_

The same spider came down from her web, and she presented Marinette with a gift: a necklace out of her own spider silk and a few extra dew drops that she had. Luka gently took the necklace, using his claws to lift the delicate piece, and he placed it around Marinette's neck.

 _"Oh, it's a strange magic."_ The pair sang as Luka once again led Marinette through the woods.

He brought her to a meadow near another clearing. As Luka watched Marinette find a nice place to sit down and look at the stars, something jumped out at him in his peripheral vision. He saw a few wild flowers in the grass, and he plucked them.

 _"Got a strange magic,"_ Luka and Marinette sang in union as the former sat down next to her. _"Got a strange magic."_

 _"It's magic..."_ Marinette sang.

 _"It's magic..."_ Luka sang, as he presented the small bunch of wild flowers to Marinette. She smiled in response.

 _"It's magic..."_ Marinette softly sang as Luka placed one flower behind her ear.

 _"It's magic..."_ Luka sang.

 _"It's magic..."_ Marinette sang once more.

 _"It's magic..."_ Luka crooned before hugging Marinette by the shoulder and looking up into the starry sky.

The pair relaxed with each other and continued to stargaze. The ones that were the most noticeable were now twinkling brighter than ever. And a few stars fell, too. It was the perfect moment for the lovers.

"I never thought the forest could look so beautiful at night, Luka," Marinette said with a satisfied sigh. "Thank you for showing me all of this."

"It's my pleasure, Marinette." Luka replied as he gently rubbed her arm. He was being careful not to scratch her with his claws.

"...It's amazing that you get to see this every night." Marinette said as she leaned in closer to him.

"Well, not _every_ night. Sometimes I get interrupted by intruders, other times the weather is bad and I can't go out." Luka admitted.

The two of them relaxed and kept on looking at the sky. They were just happy to be in each other's company. Luka would have been playing some music, but he let his cittern back in the castle.

"Say, Luka...?" Marinette asked.

"Yes, Marinette?" Luka asked.

"I wanted to ask... Once I'm fully recovered, would you come back with me to Fortune?" Marinette asked him. "I want to introduce you to my family. I bragged about you in my letter to them."

"You did?" Luka asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Marinette said with a firm nod.

"I'd love to come to Fortune with you," Luka immediately said with a smile. "Meeting your family would be great."

"Really? You're not worried about transforming in front of them?" Marinette asked.

"I'm not," Luka said. "Because I've learned how to cope with this over my whole life."

"That's good," Marinette said. "And I promise to help you in any way I can so we can keep this wolf secret of yours under wraps."

"Thanks, Marinette," Luka said, placing a kiss on her temple. The hair on his face tickled her. "You're the best."

Marinette giggled in response to the kiss, before saying, "It's no problem. Anything to help."

Marinette was starting to nod off and fall asleep. So, like something out of a fairytale, Luka picked her up like she was his bride and started to bring her back to the castle.

Once he made it back, he activated the code to open the door to the castle again and he walked up the stairs. Luka brought the sleeping princess back to her bedchamber and placed her on the bed. He made her to elevate her foot so it could recover.

Not wanting to outstay his welcome in her room, he kissed her forehead and left, not wanting to disturb his sleeping sweetheart.

Once he left her bedroom, he started to walk back to his. As he walked the halls, satisfied with how the date went, he thought about the possibility of Marinette becoming his wife.

Both Marinette and Luka went to bed to get some rest, and they had the sweetest dreams.

* * *

After that, the next few weeks of Marinette's recovery were smooth sailing. Now that Luka's secret was out, he felt that there were no inhibitions holding him back when talking to her. He was a lot more at ease and started sticking around inside the castle past sunset, if only to spend more time with Marinette.

In fact, one night he brought Marinette into the woods to pull a prank: spooking some travelers and seeing how they would react.

They were hiding in the bushes near the path, waiting for any passersby so they could scare the dickens out of them.

"Look, someone's coming," Luka said, pointing out an ornate carriage colored in reds and oranges. "Looks like the Rossi family."

"The Rossi family?" Marinette whispered with disgust.

Marinette never really cared for the noble diplomats that would come and go around the world due to their work. It was not the Rossi _parents_ that Marinette had a dislike for, but their daughter, Lila, who was a compulsive liar and would often spin outrageous stories. Marinette never believed her, and would often catch Lila going to great lengths to cover up her lies. Luckily for Marinette, she could count on Alya to trust her over Lila, so they would both take her claims with a grain of salt... Or rather, a _tablespoon_ of it.

"Yeah. Shall we, Marinette?" Luka asked.

"Are you kidding me, Luka?" Marinette asked with a smile. "Pulling a prank on that lying little vixen is a dream come true!"

Luka smiled in response, and then he asked, "Ready?"

Marinette gave a nod, unable to keep the mischievous smile off her face.

They crawled out of the bushes and went to a nearby tree. As the carriage started to come closer, Luka started to howl loudly.

The horses were startled and they stopped in their tracks. They whinnied in fright and reared up on their hind legs in fear.

"Whoa! Whoa!" The driver shouted as he saw the horses were getting upset and scared.

Remembering that this was her cue, Marinette shouted, "NO! Please... I meant no harm, honest!"

The people inside the carriage were scared, trying to figure out what was going on. Lila looked out the window and saw Marinette and Luka's shadows. Marinette remembered to take her pigtails down so Lila would not recognize her.

Luka began growling in faux rage, and Marinette whimpered in fear.

The Rossi family were scared out of their wits, and then Lila's mother asked, "What's going on?!"

"The best I can gather is that we've come upon the forest monster!" The driver replied as he paled at the sight of the shadows .

 _"The forest monster?!"_ The family asked in fear.

Seeing that their little act was working, Luka delivered the final blow. He raised his hand, showed his claws, and Marinette screamed in fear. Luka pretended to strike Marinette down and she screamed in anguish and pain while pretending to faint from the blow. The Rossi family were scared because the shadows looked like the monster had attacked an innocent girl.

"Let's get out of here!" Lila screamed.

"Way ahead of you!" The horse driver shouted as he turned the horses around and they started running all the way back to where they came from.

Once the carriage was out of sight, Luka and Marinette looked at each other and they burst out laughing.

"Oh man!" Marinette howled in laughter. "That was the funniest thing ever! I can't believe that we scared that liar something fierce!"

Luka was laughing, too. He never had this much fun at night before. It was amazing.

"I know! That was hilarious! You did a great job." Luka said.

"I... I did?" Marinette asked, calming down.

"Yeah. You were really convincing, Marinette," Luka said. "It really added something."

"Thanks, Luka," Marinette said. "But you were the one who made the act so realistic."

"I think we both did good work in this prank." Luka said.

"Yep. I don't think I've ever enjoyed myself like this." Marinette admitted, blushing.

"Neither have I," Luka said as he gently held Marinette close to him. "And I'm sure we'll have even more fun together in the future."

Marinette calmed down from her laughter and she gently laid her head against Luka's chest. Luka laid his cheek atop her head, reveling in the comfort of being with the girl he loved.

And again, the owls in the trees looked upon the lovers with curiosity about the princess and joy for their prince, who had found happiness after all this time.

* * *

The next day, the doctor visited the castle once more to give Marinette a check-up on her foot.

"Your Highness, I'm proud to report that your foot has made a full recovery!" The doctor said with a smile.

"Really?" Marinette asked. "That's great news!"

"It sure is," Luka said as he gave the crutches back to the doctor. "Now you can finally ditch the crutches and you can walk normally."

"Though I wouldn't recommend walking around alone in the woods at night again anytime soon." The doctor lightly joked.

"Yeah." Marinette agreed as she winked at Luka.

Luka smiled in response and he said, "Thank you, doctor."

The physician left with a smile on his face, and then Luka turned around to Marinette and said, "This is perfect! Now you can go home."

"Home?" Marinette said, letting the word sink in. "Oh... Right. I nearly forgot."

"Really?" Luka asked as Marinette stood up and walked over to him.

"Yeah. I've been enjoying my stay so much that _this_ was starting to feel like home," Marinette admitted. "Now that I'm healed, I need to get back to Fortune. I guess I've been avoiding thinking about that for a while."

Luka hugged Marinette close to him and said, "But you're not going alone. I'm coming with you to meet your family."

The reminder that her prince was coming home with her made Marinette feel so much better.

"I can't wait for mom and dad to meet you," Marinette said as she smiled. "And if she's safe, Alya too."

"I'm sure she's okay," Luka said. "I'll start packing the carriage for the two of us to set off."

"Really?" Marinette asked with a smile.

"Really," Luka said with a nod. "So just sit tight and I'll let you know when we're ready to leave."

Luka kissed her on the forehead before leaving her room. Marinette sighed wistfully.

Back in Fortune, some of the villagers were questioning whatever happened to Ladybug, the girl who would help them out.

"Has anyone heard from Ladybug?" Marc asked, as he and Nathaniel were working on their next book together.

"I haven't seen her in a while." Nathaniel admitted as he kept sketching.

"It's been upwards towards a month, hasn't it?" Myléne asked, carrying a basket of apples.

"Yeah," Ivan agreed. "Maybe something happened?"

"Considering how clumsy she is, maybe she hurt herself and couldn't leave?" Nathaniel suggested.

"That wouldn't be a surprise." Marc said.

"Speaking of people being MIA, I heard that Princess Marinette's been missing, too. For the same amount of time as Ladybug." Ivan said.

"I wonder... Is it a coincidence?" Myléne asked.

The castle staff were scrambling to clean up the castle and make it spic-and-span for the princess' return.

Chloé and Sabrina were curious about why everyone was on edge.

"Hey!" Chloé barked at one maid who was carrying a flower vase. "What is going on around here?"

"Oh, Your Highnesses!" The maid said. "Haven't you heard? Your sister is returning today!"

"Marinette's coming back? But it's been over a month!" Sabrina asked, surprised. Chloé was appalled.

"You mean you didn't know about the letter she sent?" The maid inquired.

"What letter?" Chloé asked.

"Your sister had broken her foot and had been stranded in the woods. Luckily, she was found by His Highness, Prince Luka of Lumière Kingdom and had been recuperating in his castle up until now. She's fully healed from her injury and now she and His Highness are on their way back as we speak!" The maid said as she delightedly skipped away to put the flowers on one of the mantles.

Sabrina was somewhat relieved that Marinette had survived. Chloé, not so much.

"So the pest is on her way back, and to add insult to injury, she's coming back with a _prince?!_ That monster should have eaten her alive!" Chloé screeched.

Sabrina tried to placate Chloé by saying, "W-Well, Chloé, if Marinette decides to marry this prince, that means she'll leave Fortune again for good and she won't be in line to become queen."

"Hm, not a completely stupid point," Chloé said with a smirk. "But still... I'll be rid of our sister if it's the last thing I ever do."

"Chloé! Sabrina!" Tom said, as he, Sabine, and Alya were making their way to the front gates. "Alya caught sight of the royal carriage from Lumière Kingdom! Your sister is back!"

The girls reluctantly followed their father to the castle gates.

They left the doors to the castle and saw the beautiful, ornate carriage come through the gates.

The carriage stopped, and the driver got off and opened the side doors.

"Presenting His Highness, Prince Luka of Lumière Kingdom and Her Highness Princess Marinette of Fortune!" The driver said as Luka stepped out of the carriage, with Marinette on his arm.

He was wearing a teal military jacket with black epaulets that had silver beads. There was also silver stitching on the jacket itself, including the royal crest of Lumière on his chest. He was wearing black pants and matching dress shoes, too, and black gloves with silver stitching.

"Wow. He's a looker, ain't he?" Alya whispered to Sabine.

"Indeed, he is quite handsome." Sabine agreed.

Marinette was wearing her usual pink dress and tiara, and had one of her arms locked with Luka's.

Tom approached Luka, with Sabine in tow, and he said, "Welcome, Your Highness. I am King Tom of Fortune, and this is my wife, Queen Sabine. It's an honor to meet you."

"Your Majesties," Luka said, with a polite bow. "On the contrary, it is _my_ honor to meet _you_."

"We can't thank you enough for taking care of our Marinette," Sabine said, curtsying before Luka. "We were fraught with worry over her when she disappeared."

"I can imagine," Luka said. "If that had happened to my sister, I would probably be just as concerned."

"Speaking of sisters," Marinette said, before turning to Chloé and Sabrina. "Sabrina, Chloé! Please, come and meet Luka!"

Chloé and Sabrina merely curtsied and the former let out a robotic, "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness."

Luka merely looked over the girls and his lips were formed into a thin line. He could tell that there was something malicious in Chloé's heart, and he could sense cowardice in Sabrina's.

"I return the sentiment," Luka said, albeit it was not without caution. He then met eyes with Alya. "You must be Lady Alya, Marinette's best friend. You're also her lady-in-waiting, right?"

"Indeed I am," Alya said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Luka."

"Right back at you, Alya," Luka said. "Marinette was so worried about you. But I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I'm glad you're all right too, Alya," Marinette said as she detached herself from Luka and hugged her best friend. "I think I was misinformed when I was told you went into the woods."

"Misinformed? I think flat-out lied to is more accurate." Alya muttered, just loud enough for Marinette to hear. Marinette nodded in response.

"The two of you are pretty close, aren't you?" Luka said. His heart was warmed at the sight of the two best friends being so close with each other.

"We sure are," Alya said as she broke the hug. "I gotta say, I've been looking forward to meeting you. Marinette couldn't stop bragging about you in her letter."

"Really?" Luka asked, blushing a bit.

"Yeah, she said you're an amazing cittern player." Sabine said.

"Good thing I brought it along, then," Luka chuckled. "I can't wait to play some music for all of you."

"That's great!" Sabrina said, only for Chloé to jab her in the side with her elbow.

"Let's have the staff bring your things in while we show you around the castle." Tom said as he led Marinette and Luka inside.

Sabrina and Chloé were left at the gates and were _not_ happy about seeing Marinette so delighted to have returned in one piece, _and_ with a suitor.

"I _will_ become queen! Make no mistake about it." Chloé darkly said, trying to find another opportunity to get rid of Marinette and hopefully become the queen.

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter 4! The fifth and final chapter is going to be coming soon! Coming up, Luka intends to ask Tom and Sabine for Marinette's hand in marriage, but Chloé and Sabrina have plans to ruin everything when they overhear Luka and Marinette talking about you-know-what.**

 **And someone asked about the possibility of Adrien being mentioned at all in this story. Sorry peeps, but Adrien's completely out of the picture here. I always have a hard time figuring out an endgame pairing between Lukanette VS. Adrienette whenever I put that love triangle into a story because I like both pairs SO MUCH. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.**

 **So, I'd like to see a review quota of about 28-30+ reviews before you see the last chapter, okay?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Marinette is now home safe and sound, and Luka's there, too. In honor of Marinette's return and to celebrate her engagement to Luka, the kingdom is holding a ball! But the problem is that it's going to be during the evening and Marinette and Luka are worried about his secret getting out. And these concerns become very well-founded when Sabrina and Chloé overhear a few _key_** ** _details_** **...  
**

 **This chapter contains pieces from "Can't Help Falling in Love" by A-Teens.**

 **By the way, sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I just needed a break.**

* * *

So far, everything seemed to be going okay. Luka had made a perfect impression on Marinette's parents, earned Alya's approval, and was overall a perfect gentleman. Not only that, but he was as easygoing as ever, even though he was in a castle filled with strangers barring Marinette.

And since he could read people very well, he always made the upmost efforts to be polite while keeping his interactions with Chloé and Sabrina to a minimum. He could tell that Marinette's sisters were _not happy_ to have her back, and by extension, some of that animosity was being directed at him. So he knew he needed to be careful.

During lunch, Marinette and Luka sat next to each other and refused to leave the other's side.

"Wow, this is delicious," Luka said as he took a bite of his lamb. "My compliments to the chef."

"Mom will definitely like hearing that." Alya said as she also ate a bite.

"She certainly has talent and skill." Luka said with a smile.

"I'll be sure to tell her that." Alya said, happy.

Chloé and Sabrina were silent as they were seething with rage that Marinette was not only back, but she brought a man with her.

Tom and Sabine winked at each other and then Tom said, "Well, this lunch is a little too quiet for my taste. Maybe we should get some entertainment here."

"Oh yes," Chloé said. "Let's have our orchestra come in and play for us."

"Actually, I meant that Luka could play a song on his cittern once he was finished eating." Tom said, gesturing to Luka.

"Of course." Luka said. He put his fork down and stood up. He had his cittern next to him and he picked it up. He pushed his chair out so he could hold the instrument without hitting anything.

Luka started strumming the stringed instrument and a quiet, calm tune started flowing out. The music relaxed everyone in the room. Even Chloé had to admit that Luka had talent on the cittern. Marinette watched Luka with lovesick eyes, her hands clasped together and her attention fully on her cittern-playing prince.

After Luka had finished playing his song, light applause started echoing around the room.

"That was amazing!" Sabine said. "Marinette wasn't kidding when she said you had skill on the cittern."

"Thank you." Luka said with a smile.

"I wonder if some of the villagers might want to hear you play." Alya commented.

"The villagers...? *Gasp* The villagers!" Marinette said, standing up in a panic. "I've been away for so long! All my friends out in the town must be worried about me and wondering where I am!"

"Why not go out like you normally do and check in with them?" Luka suggested. "I'm sure they'd be happy to see you again."

"Thanks, Luka," Marinette said. "Let's go, Alya!"

"Okay, girl, but we need to talk about something." Alya said, winking at Marinette as she began to bring the princess back to her quarters.

Luka watched Marinette leave the room with a smile on his face. Seeing Marinette so happy to be back home made him feel warm inside, too. Meanwhile, Chloé was glaring at Marinette and muttering curses under her breath.

The elder blonde sister stalked out of the dining room in a huff, Sabrina following behind like a loyal puppy.

* * *

Alya had put the rope ladder back in place and Marinette changed her clothes before doing the usual routine: climbing out the window in disguise and going out into the town to see her friends.

Marinette dashed into the village and was breathing heavily from running so fast without stopping. She caught sight of Ivan and Myléne at the blacksmith's, so she started to catch her breath before

"Ivan! Myléne!" Marinette shouted out to them in greeting.

The two lovers looked up and they smiled when they saw Marinette was there.

"Ladybug! Long time, no see!" Ivan said as Marinette jogged up to them.

"I know!" Marinette said. "Sorry I haven't been around."

"What happened to you?" Myléne asked.

"Oh, I broke my foot, so I was stuck at home the whole time." Marinette explained, not giving any other details.

"Ouch," Ivan said, wincing in sympathy. "That must have been a pain, no pun intended."

"It was," Marinette admitted. She then blushed. "But during my recovery... I met someone."

"Ooh! You met someone?!" Myléne asked.

"Yeah," Marinette said, holding her hands close to her heart. "And I definitely see something happening with him in the future... If he decides to take things to the next level."

"Prince Luka's pretty lucky, Your Highness." Ivan said.

"Yeah, he-" Marinette began, but then she realized what Ivan had said. "What? "Your Highness?!" How did you figure it out?!"

"It wasn't that hard," Myléne explained. "You go AWOL around the same time as the Princess does, and both girls return at the exact same time? It was kind of obvious after that."

Marinette sighed before saying, "So... I guess that means you're going to start treating me differently, right?"

"No way, Marinette," Ivan said, smiling at her. "You may be a princess, but you definitely care about us. In fact, I'd dare say you act more like one of us common folk than a princess."

Marinette smiled in response and said, "Thank you. Now that that's out in the open, is there anything I can help with?"

"I'm shorthanded at the apple orchard," Myléne admitted. "Think you can help me out?"

"I'm on it!" Marinette said as she and Myléne started walking to the apple orchard to pick some more apples for sale.

Back at the castle, Luka had hit it off with Marinette's parents, so Tom and Sabine insisted that he continue to stay in their company, especially since it seemed like Sabrina and Chloé were not happy to talk to the visiting youth.

"So Luka," Tom said as he and Sabine were talking with Luka in private. "How long are you planning on staying? We want to make sure your stay is as pleasant as ever."

"Well, I don't plan on sticking around for long unless you want me to," Luka admitted. "I don't want to leave my sister alone in Lumière for very long. She may be the future queen, but that doesn't mean I should leave her to her own devices all the time."

"Oh, Princess Juleka will take the throne?" Sabine asked.

"Yes, Lumière operates under a matriarcal monarchy. I have my own share of duties, though." Luka explained.

The truth was, the royal family of Lumière _did_ operate in a matriarchal system. In fact, it had been like that for generations long before the curse came into effect. The thing was, the curse only affected _sons_ , not daughters, so any daughter born in the family was safe. Regardless of how the curse worked, Luka was not about to advertise that that was the primary reason for the monarchy to be partial to having a queen.

"We intend on making Marinette the next queen here in Fortune," Sabine commented. "Normally it's the firstborn, but the public prefers Marinette and she always makes efforts to improve the situation for our people, not like Sabrina or Chloé."

"Yeah, she told me stories about her escapades in the village here," Luka said as he looked out the window. "How much fun she would have picking apples or hauling bags of wheat flour, giving handmade clothes to the people, amongst others. But she never really talked much about her sisters."

"Speaking of whom, we have our suspicions that those two were responsible for why Marinette wound up lost and injured in the first place. Alya _did_ leave the castle, but she was just running errands in town." Tom explained.

"And I can tell that Chloé and Sabrina weren't too happy to have Marinette back," Luka said. "I'm pretty good at reading others, so I could sense the malice, hatred, and disappointment they were harboring."

"That would explain why Chloé most likely lied to Marinette," Sabine said. "It was a lucky thing that you found her before the forest monster did."

Luka have an agreeing hum, but there was no way he was going to tell Tom and Sabine that the forest monster technically _did_ get to Marinette first.

"Speaking of Marinette..." Luka began, turning to Tom and Sabine. "I wanted to ask for your blessing to... Ask her to marry me."

Tom and Sabine's eyes widened, as did their smiles, and Tom picked Luka up with both hands and chortled happily, saying, "Of course, son! You saved Marinette and brought her back to us! We couldn't have asked for a better suitor for her!"

Luka was starting to turn blue in the face from the lack of air.

"Tom, put him down!" Sabine chuckled. Tom, realizing he was choking Luka, put the prince down and he gently pat him on the back, hoping he was okay. Luka began to catch his breath.

"Anyway, I couldn't agree more," Sabine said, before turning to Luka. "You have what it takes to become King of Fortune."

"Oh, thank you!" Luka said, a smile growing on his face. He had gotten his air back.

"You should propose to Marinette once she gets back! I know just the ring you can use!" Tom said as he went to a vanity and pulled a drawer out.

He extracted a small ring box and then he opened it to reveal that it was a golden band with a princess cut diamond on it. There were cultured freshwater pearls on each corner of the jewel.

"This was the ring that my father used to propose to my mother, the former queen," Tom explained, as Luka looked over the jewelry piece. "The ring I proposed to Sabine with was genuine jade."

"And I wear it to this day," Sabine said, showing Luka her engagement ring. It was a pear cut jade ring mounted on a silver band. "I think that you proposing to Marinette with Gina's ring would be perfect."

"I think it's perfect," Luka said, taking the box. "Marinette deserves the best. And she'll get this ring as soon as she comes back!"

Tom and Sabine were looking forward to when their youngest daughter would come back, happy and engaged to the perfect prince.

* * *

Marinette saw that the afternoon had all but gone by in a flash. Worried that Luka would probably have some trouble finding a good hiding spot, Marinette immediately made a run for the castle, not wanting to keep her prince waiting. Myléne gave her a few apples to bring home with her, and she was carrying them in a smaller basket.

She climbed the rope ladder, and once she made it to the windowsill, a hand reached out to her. Marinette grabbed it and said, "Thanks, Alya."

"Guess again." Luka chuckled as he pulled Marinette into her room.

"Oh, Luka! What are you doing in here?" Marinette asked, surprised to see Luka in her room instead of Alya. Marinette put the basket down, took two apples out and tossed one of them over to Luka.

"Alya gave me permission to wait in here for you," Luka said as he caught the apple in one hand. He gently led Marinette to the bed and they sat down before eating. "How was town today?"

"I had a great time. I caught up with all of my friends. I thought that I kept the fact that I'm the princess a secret from everyone. I guess they figured it out while I was gone. They even grilled me for details about you." Marinette chuckled.

"Really?" Luka asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I didn't mention _you-know-what_ , though." Marinette said, holding her hands up in surrender.

"I trust you, Marinette," Luka said. "So, what did you do in town today?"

"Oh, I went apple picking with Myléne. She needed some help because her dad was busy." Marinette said with a smile.

"I've never picked apples before," Luka said. "How is it done?"

Marinette prattled on about the experience as the two of them ate their fruit. She described the proper picking technique Myléne taught her, and she talked about how they created a rope/pulley system to lift the baskets up to the tallest parts of the trees to get the apples and bring the apples back down to the ground without dropping them.

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Luka said. "I should try it some time."

"I actually have something for you, too," Luka said as he picked up his cittern. "I've been working on a song I wanted to play for you for a while. I wanted to make sure it was perfect for tonight."

"Really?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah," Luka admitted. "I also planned to sing."

Marinette's eyes lit up with delight and she said, "Oh, I want to hear it!"

"Ask and you shall receive, my love," Luka said with a smile and chuckle. "Let's see if I can remember the lyrics."

Luka started to play his cittern and he crossed his legs on the bed as he played.

 _"Wise men say only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you,"_ Luka quietly crooned to Marinette. She blushed in response as he looked her in the eyes and smiled. _"Shall I say would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?"_

Marinette's eyes were alight with joy and love, before gently scooting closer to Luka. He chuckled before continuing his song.

 _"Like a river flows to the sea. So it goes, some things are meant to be..."_ Luka sang, and Marinette followed along with, _"Some things are meant to be!"_

Almost as if she knew the lyrics already, Marinette continued to sing along with Luka.

 _"Take my hand. Take my whole life, too. For I can't help falling in love with you!"_ The pair crooned together.

They continued to sing together as they made it through the song. Their eyes never left each other, and they were so happy to sing together. Marinette leaned her head against his shoulder and she gently closed her eyes, feeling safe and comfortable.

 _"Like a river flows, that's the way it goes. I just can't help falling in love with you. Like a river flows, that's the way it goes. I just can't help it, falling in love with you!"_ The pair finished up before looking each other in the eyes.

"You're a great singer, Marinette." Luka said with a smile as he put his cittern down. Luka looked up to Marinette.

"Thanks, Luka." Marinette said with a blush and a smile.

"There's more, though," Luka added as he took a box out from out of his pocket and faced Marinette. He took a deep breath and said, "I talked to your parents while you were out today."

He opened the box to reveal the ring, and Marinette gasped as she recognized it. She looked between the ring and the prince and she could not help but feel her heart begin to soar.

"Ever since the day we met, I found you very charming. You were more worried about others than you were about yourself," Luka said, beginning to go on a spiel about how he felt about Marinette. "I fell for you pretty quickly, and even after you found out about my secret, you never thought any differently of me."

Marinette blushed and smiled at Luka.

"I've lived my life knowing that I can still do what I can to help people. Man, wolf, whatever. And I can only hope that I can still do it... With you by my side," Luka said, causing Marinette's eyes to water with tears of joy and she covered her mouth in shock. "So, Princess Marinette... Will you marry me?"

Marinette, still sobbing happily, leaped onto Luka and while sniveling and sobbing happily, she said, "Yes! Of course I will!"

Luka gently kissed Marinette's forehead while slipping the ring on her finger. The two of them cuddled together, wrapped up in bliss and hoping that their time together would be nothing but sunshine.

"We'll rule Fortune together!" Marinette sobbed happily.

Luka landed another kiss on top of her forehead and kept hugging her close.

* * *

When they announced their engagement at dinner, everyone was delighted. They all stood up and were applauding for the happy couple.

"Congratulations, both of you." Tom said as he shook Luka's hand, satisfied with the outcome.

"This is great, girl!" Alya said as she stood up and hugged her best friend. "You and Luka are perfect together!"

"I'm so happy for you, Marinette!" Sabrina said, genuinely happy for her younger sister. "You and Luka are going to be so happy together, I just know it!"

"Thank you, Sabrina." Marinette said, giving Sabrina a smile.

"Chloé?" Sabine asked, suspicious. "What about you?"

"Of course I'm happy. Finally, someone's going to marry Marinette force her to leave Fortune." Chloé spat, albeit deep down she was happy that Marinette was getting married.

"Luka is going to become _King_ of Fortune!" Tom bellowed, banging his hand on the table. "So show some respect!"

"What?" Chloé asked. "Luka and Marinette are going to be ruling Fortune? But isn't he the heir to the throne of Lumière?"

"No, Juleka is," Luka explained. "The kingdom prefers queens."

"I... I see..." Chloé said, her eye twitching in rage.

"We have to celebrate!" Tom said, delighted for his youngest daughter. "We'll have a ball and invite everyone in the realm! From the townsfolk all the way up to the nobility!"

"We're going to let filthy rabble in here?!" Chloé declared, incredulous.

"The "filthy rabble" you speak of are _my friends!_ " Marinette said, angry at Chloé's comment. "And they have just as much right to meet Luka as anyone else."

"Yeah, Chloé!" Alya said. "You don't have to be so cruel."

"Indeed. I expect you to be on your best behavior at the ball." Tom sternly said.

"Ugh, fine." Chloé said, rolling her eyes.

Sabine piped up and said, "It will be a wonderful affair! Luka can join in with the orchestra and play a few solo pieces on his cittern if he wants! The two of you will have a wonderful engagement dance!"

"I'm sure we will, Sabine." Luka said with a smile as he hugged Marinette by her shoulder.

"It will be the most romantic night of your lives... Before the wedding night, obviously." Tom said, winking at Luka.

Both Luka and Marinette blushed, before one particular word in that statement rang a few alarms in Marinette's head.

"Um... Night?" Marinette asked.

"Of course! We'll have it from the late afternoon to early evening! Having the light from the sunset pouring into the ballroom would make the ambiance even better, wouldn't it?" Sabine replied.

Marinette bit her thumbnail in concern, but she tried her best not to let it show. Luka looked at Marinette and he could immediately tell that she was anxious. So to reassure her, Luka gave her a kiss on her cheek before saying, "It will."

Marinette blushed and smiled as she leaned against Luka for a little bit. He smiled at her, too.

Chloé noticed how nervous Marinette seemed at the mention of an evening ball, and assumed something was up.

Later on, the two sisters had followed Marinette and Luka back to the former's bedchambers. Once the lovers went inside, Chloé and Sabrina silently stood outside to eavesdrop on them.

"Are you sure about this, Chloé?" Sabrina asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm sure," Chloé hissed. "Those two are hiding something, and we're going to find out what!"

"...So, should we talk about it?" Luka asked Marinette.

The pair was sitting on the bed and talking about the ball that Tom and Sabine insisted on holding.

"Yes. I'm a little worried about the ball," Marinette said, voicing a concern. "After all, sunset's going to happen during the ball, and we're going to be expected to stay during the whole thing."

"I know," Luka said. "We'll just try to find some sort of excuse to get out of there before dark."

"But I'm sure people will get suspicious," Marinette said. "Chloé and Sabrina especially. And Alya's too perceptive for her own good sometimes."

"In that case, maybe she figured out that Chloé lied to you so you would die out in the woods." Luka commented.

Sabrina and Chloé flinched, but refused to make a peep. Alya had them figured out, and so did Prince Luka, apparently.

"Anyway, we need to come up with a plan to get you out of there before dark," Marinette said. "We need to keep your secret."

"I know, and we will," Luka said as he hugged Marinette close to him. "No matter what."

Marinette gave Luka a smile and she said, "Yes. Come what may, we'll make sure that no one finds out that you're the forest monster."

Chloé and Sabrina backed off and they quietly made themselves scarce.

"Interesting..." Chloé said, smirking.

"So, that explains why she survived," Sabrina commented. "The monster has been under our roof the whole time."

"And he was stupid enough to save Marinette instead of killing her!" Chloé said. "And now I have an idea on how to expose him and then I'll take the throne without any problem..."

* * *

Tom and Sabine had decided that the ball would be in two weeks' time in order to give the staff and the townsfolk a big enough window of time to prepare. Word about Marinette and Luka's engagement spread faster than a wildfire. And as far as wildfires go, this was one that they did _not_ want to put out.

Marinette even invited Luka out to the village at one point to give him an introduction to her friends. They were in Marinette's quarters together.

"I can't wait for you to meet my village friends," Marinette said, changing into her villager clothes. "They're all so friendly and even after they realized that I'm the princess, they're still happy to have me around to help."

She had put up a barricade between herself and Luka so they could change clothes. Speaking of clothes, Marinette had asked one of the guards if they could lend Luka some of their casual clothes. He came out from behind the screen and he was dressed in a slightly worn-out teal tunic.

"You're a very special girl, Marinette," Luka said as he stepped closer to her. "I don't blame your friends for wanting you around. I'm excited to meet them."

"Then what are we doing here? Let's get going!" Marinette said as she took Luka's hand and led him out of her room.

Unknown to them, Chloé and Sabrina were hiding and they were plotting on how to let Luka's secret out and undermine the public's opinion of their sister. And they knew _just_ when to do it...

Out in the village, Marinette was showing Luka around the square. The young prince was impressed with how friendly and open everyone was towards them. And Luka knew that the reason everyone was calling Marinette "Ladybug" was because that was the name she took on whenever she was in the village.

"Oh, look, there are a few of my other friends," Marinette said, pointing out two boys. "Nathaniel! Marc!"

The boys turned around at the voice and they smiled at the sight of the familiar face.

"Mari - er, excuse me, Ladybug," Nathaniel said, catching himself before letting the princess's real name slip. "It's good to see you again. Ivan and Myléne told us what happened."

"That's good," Marinette said with a smile. "Anyway, I want to introduce you to my fiancé."

Luka stepped forward and held out his hand, before saying, "Hey, I'm Luka."

"Nice to meet you, Luka," Marc said as he shook Luka's hand. "We heard the whole story from Ivan. Thanks for helping Ladybug."

"It's no problem. I couldn't leave her out there." Luka said as he hugged Marinette close to him by her shoulder. She blushed in response to his gesture and she sighed, content.

"But... What about the forest monster?" Nathaniel asked. "Did you see it?"

Marinette grew a bit stiff at that question.

On the other hand, Luka was clearly experienced in coming up with cover stories because he slickly said, "No, I didn't. I guess it's one of those creatures that if you leave it alone, it will respond in kind."

"That makes sense." Marc said with a shrug.

Luka looked Marinette in the eyes and gave her a warm, loving smile. Marinette could only breathe a sigh of relief at Luka's laid-back behavior. It helped her feel more secure about keeping the proverbial cat in the bag.

"So Marc, I hear you and Nathaniel are quite the artistic team," Luka said with a chuckle. "May I see a few samples?"

"Sure! Here's a few completed pieces of our illustrated book series." Marc said as he handed a few sketches out to the pair.

"Wow, this is a wonderful story. I wonder if it's possible for me to put music to it in the future," Luka commented as he read it over. "The illustrations are so well-done, and the story's plot is really engaging."

"You think so?" Nathaniel asked.

Luka gave a nod as he handed the manuscript back over to the boys. Marinette lit up at how the boys were hitting it off and there seemed to be no discord between them. Marinette always had a hunch Nathaniel had a thing for her in the past, so she was a little worried.

Marinette latched her arm around Luka's and smiled with joy. He chuckled in response to her affection and made no move to brush her off.

* * *

Time flew by in a flash, and then the royal engagement ball was upon Fortune. Everyone was dressed up in their best clothes and were mingling with each other in the ballroom. They were all celebrating the couple of the hour, Luka and Marinette.

"I propose a toast to Princess Marinette and Prince Luka to celebrate their engagement!" Tom said, raising a glass of wine.

 _"Huzzah!"_ Everyone cheered as they clinked glasses and started dancing.

Marinette and Luka were sitting on the ceremonial thrones, their hands interlocked with each other.

Chloé was near the doors to the ballroom and was talking with the guards while Sabrina was whispering to the maids about something. Sabrina sent the maids off to fulfill her request and then toddled across the room to get back to Chloé.

"Did you get the maids to listen to you?" Chloé asked.

Sabrina nodded and said, "The plan is in motion."

Chloé nodded with a smirk on her face and said, "And soon my claim to the throne will be at hand."

The guards fiddled around with the doors while the maids closed the curtains. No one seemed to pay it any mind, just the staff of the castle doing their jobs.

Marinette was looking around and smiling at all of the people who were in attendance in honor of her and Luka. Ivan and Myléne, Marc and Nathaniel, and so many more familiar faces were there. She was delighted that they took the time to come and attend the party. It was heartwarming to know that even after learning she was royalty, they still saw her as their friend.

"Congratulations, Marinette!" Myléne said as she and Marinette shared a hug. "You and Luka are going to be so happy together!"

"Thanks, Myléne," Marinette said as she held Myléne's hands in joy. "Please, enjoy yourselves tonight! Chef Césaire has made her finest tonight."

"I will! Come on, Ivan!" Myléne replied as she took Ivan by the hand and started walking to the dinner table.

"This ball really came together," Luka said. "And everyone looks so happy about it."

"I know." Marinette said as she looked at all the attendees. She even noticed that Alya had caught the attention of one of the other musicians, a boy her age with a red hat, wearing a blue uniform and glasses. He was trying to flirt with her, but to no avail as she wound up turning the tables on him.

"But..." Marinette began, turning to Luka and smiling at him.

"But what?" Luka asked.

"But I think _I'm_ the happiest one here." Marinette said as she wrapped her arms around Luka's.

Luka smiled and said, "Me too."

"Okay, everyone, attention please!" Tom said as he clapped his hands and called for quiet. "I would like to present our future king, Luka, with the opportunity to share a song on his cittern with us!"

Everyone began applauding as Luka took to the orchestra's area. The young man that Alya had been flirting with earlier gave Luka his seat. Luka sat down, crossed his legs, and he took his cittern up. He took a deep breath before looking out to the crowd.

"Good evening everyone," Luka said. "Tonight I have a song that goes out to my fiancé, Princess Marinette."

Marinette blushed and was close to swooning as Luka began to strum the instrument. He was playing a calm, sweet tune that seemed to allow everyone in the room to ease up and let go of the formal air for a while.

Well, everyone but Chloé and Sabrina. They were more concerned about exposing Luka and ruining things for him and Marinette than they were about enjoying themselves. That said, Sabrina seemed more reluctant about the whole thing than Chloé did.

Marinette stepped a little closer and she stood next to Luka as he continued to play his music. She sighed, content with just standing by her fiancé's side and reveling in the music that bathed her in the soothing atmosphere that it always did.

Even when night would fall and he would change into wolf form, Marinette never felt any danger around him, and any music he made would always make her feel safe. It was like even though she would be hanging around with what other people might consider dangerous, she knew him well enough to know that she was going to be okay.

Once Luka played a few more notes, he looked up at Marinette and smiled, making her blush. He played another long note and let it hang in the air for a while. He then stood up and took a bow while everyone started applauding his performance.

"That was amazing, Luka!" Marinette said as Luka put the cittern away and approached the princess.

"Thank you, Marinette," Luka said as he took her hands into his own and gave her a loving smile. "Thank you."

Once the applause died down, Tom announced, "And now for the first official engagement dance!"

Luka led Marinette out onto the dance floor. Luka took a bow while Marinette gave him a curtsy. The duo stood back up and Luka took Marinette's hand before kissing it. Luka put his free hand on the small of Marinette's back and kept holding her hand. Marinette placed her other hand on his shoulder and looked Luka in the eyes with a smile.

Tom snapped his fingers and the orchestra started playing a waltz for the pair to dance to. Everyone was watching in awe and delight as Luka and Marinette flew across the dance floor in perfect sync, completely oblivious to everyone else in the ballroom.

As the pair twirled around and kept traveling around the room, Chloé came up next to Sabrina.

"How's it looking out there?" Chloé hissed in a whisper as she made Sabrina look through the window curtains.

"Sunset is approaching," Sabrina reported. "We just need to keep them distracted."

"And I had the guards lock the doors," Chloé said with a smirk. "Once the sun sets, everything will go the way it should."

Sabrina nodded a bit nervously.

Marinette and Luka were still waltzing and dancing with each other. It was like something out of one of the romance novels that Marinette would often read. It was nothing short of magical.

It did not matter to her whether Luka was human or a wolf. He loved her, and she loved him. It was a match made in heaven. Luka, sensing that she was happy to be with him, gently pulled her closer and he dipped her down in the dance.

"They're such a beautiful couple!" "Aren't they, though?" "I can see great potential for the future! Luka will make a great king!"

Chloé peeked out of the curtains and saw that the sun was just about to disappear beneath the horizon. She smirked and said, "We'll see about that in a little bit."

Luka paused in the dance as he started to feel different, and he muttered, "Uh-oh..."

Marinette looked Luka in the eyes and said, "Is it about to happen?"

Luka nodded and then he let go of Marinette's hands. He hurriedly left the dance floor and made to run for the doors. Marinette took a few seconds and she began to follow after him. Everyone in the crowd was confused and the music stopped playing.

"Where are they going?" "What's going on?"

Luka grabbed the door and was about to open it, but the knob was stuck.

"It's locked!" Luka said.

Just then, the room got dark as he realized that the sun had fully set. Luka stepped away from the door and he clutched his head with his hands.

"Luka!" Marinette shouted in fright.

Like clockwork, Luka transformed into his wolf form. Everyone gasped and screamed in shock as his clothes ripped, he grew two feet in height, his fangs, claws, tail, and ears appeared, and his scales formed.

Luka looked around and saw everyone was gaping at him in shock. The only ones who did not seem surprised were Marinette, Chloé, and Sabrina.

Soon, the entire crowd was screaming, gasping, and clamoring in complete shock and fear at the sight of him. Myléne huddled closer to Ivan, Alya's eyes were the size of dinner plates, Tom and Sabine were shocked, and everyone else in the room were visibly freaking out.

"Well, well, well! Looks like the skeleton is out of the closet," Chloé said as she stepped forward and got the attention of everyone in the crowd. "Everyone, we're in the company of the legendary forest monster!"

Everyone gasped loudly when Chloé gestured an open palm to Luka.

Luka seemed unfazed as he kept looking Marinette in the eyes.

" _He's_ the forest monster?!" "So _he's_ the one who's been terrorizing people when provoked!" "I don't believe this!"

"Well, Marinette, what do you think of your prince _now?_ " Chloé taunted.

Marinette turned around and gave an angry glare at her sisters and the guards who were about to close in and hurt Luka. They had their weapons ready and were about to charge after him.

Marinette spread her arms out to defend her beloved and she shouted, _"Guards, I order you to stand down!"_

The guards lowered their swords and stepped away. Marinette turned around to face Luka, who was still looking at Marinette.

"Luka, are you okay?" Marinette asked.

"I'm okay," Luka said. "But what about you?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said. "I guess we should have been paying more attention to the sun."

"Marinette, what is the meaning of this?!" Tom shouted as he and Sabine approached. "Get away from him!"

Luka stepped forward to defend Marinette, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's okay. I'll handle this."

Luka gave his princess a nod and then he stepped back.

Marinette looked her parents in the eye and said, "Yes, Luka's the forest beast. Yes, I already knew."

"You knew?!" Alya asked.

"Yeah, but not right away. He wanted to keep it a secret, and it was his right," Marinette said. "But I guess we couldn't keep it for long."

"And what about those rumors about him attacking travelers?" Alya asked.

" _Y_ _es_ , some of the reports about him attacking others have a bit of truth to them, but that's what people get when they attack him for no reason. What else would you expect if someone was minding their own business and then a sword is brandished at you?" Marinette asked. "You'd retaliate in self-defense too, wouldn't you?"

"Good point," Sabine said. "But that doesn't change the fact that he hurt people!"

"I don't get any pleasure from it." Luka said.

"What?! How can you _not_ enjoy hurting people?! You're a monster, aren't you?!" Chloé demanded. "You were _supposed_ to kill Marinette when she got into your territory! That's why I sent her into the woods that night to begin with! So you could kill her and _I_ would become heir to the throne!"

She covered her mouth at that revelation and everyone gasped in shock.

"Aha! I knew it!" Alya said as she smirked. "I _knew_ that it was you who tricked Marinette into getting lost in the woods!"

"Chloé!" Tom said, angrily.

"What? It's not like anyone would want Marinette to be queen now, now that we know her fiancé is a _freak_." Chloé said with a smirk.

Everyone was clamoring in agreement with Chloé. They did not want a werewolf to be king and they were calling for him to be sent back to where he came from.

Luka took it without much hurt since he expected this kind of reaction. On the other hand, Marinette was not happy.

 _"ENOUGH!"_ Marinette shouted, calling for silence. "How could you?! I thought you were my friends and subjects! The people who _wanted_ me to be their leader! The people who _trusted_ me! But now I see I was wrong about everything!"

Everyone fell quiet at this and they were all beginning to rethink their reactions.

"Luka's no monster! Yes, he transforms into a werewolf-merman hybrid after dark. So what?! He's never hurt me. In fact, it's thanks to _him_ that I didn't die out there and I was able to come back! But now I'm beginning to wonder if I should have just _stayed_ in Lumière!" Marinette declared, tears running down her face.

"Marinette..." Luka said, feeling happy that Marinette was defending him, but a little worried about her emotional state.

The ring on the princess's finger glittered in the lights of the chandelier, and Marinette scowled at it.

She took it off, raised it up to the light, and she announced to the crowd, "This ring belonged to my grandmother, and it was given to Luka to propose to me with. But if my grandfather were still here today, and if he didn't accept Luka for every fiber of his being, then I don't want this ring! I won't have any social-emotional or material connection to a family _or_ a kingdom that won't accept the man I love!"

Marinette threw the ring across the room. Tom caught it in his hands and he and Sabine were looking aghast at their daughter and her declaration.

Marinette turned to Chloé and said, "You wanted to be Queen, right? Well, consider your wish granted."

Marinette then turned on her heel and walked back to Luka and she said, "Let's get out of here."

"Marinette," Luka said as she placed her hands against his chest and leaned up against him, about to cry. Luka hugged her. "I'm so sorry..."

"Not your fault," Marinette said. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. You're the one I love, and that won't change no matter what happens!"

Marinette stood on the tips of her toes and then she planted a kiss onto Luka's lips.

Just then, a sparkling, teal mist started circling around Luka. Marinette, confused, backed off and she watched.

Everyone else was watching, too. Luka was lifted off the ground and the mist kept swirling around him. As the sparkling air surrounded him, his features became more human. His ears started to disappear and his tail receded back into his body. His claws shortened back into his hands and all the fur and scales started to disappear, too.

Once he was put down on the ground, Luka looked over himself. He was not only fully human again, but his clothes were repaired and so much more.

"Wow..." Luka said. "I'm... Human again?"

"Maybe my kiss changed you back?" Marinette suggested.

"No, I don't think so," Luka said. "I've read some of the journals of my ancestors and all of them described kissing their lovers, and even then the curse didn't break. So why...?"

 _"Because Marinette wasn't scared to hide it from the public."_ An ethereal voice said.

In a similar vein from earlier, an ethereal image of an older Chinese man with a beard and mustache, wearing attire that a priest would likely wear appeared before Luka.

"Who...?" Marinette began.

 _"I am Master Fu, the sage responsible for inflicting the curse on Luka's ancestor."_ Fu explained.

"It was _you_?" Luka asked, surprised.

 _"Indeed,"_ Fu explained. _"Your ancestor was a misguided soul. VERY misguided, to the point of corrupt, I would likely say. I placed that curse on him to teach him a lesson. That said, I didn't expect it to effect future generations."_

"So you had no intention of punishing his descendants?" Marinette asked.

 _"Exactly. The punishment for sins of the father should not be passed on to future generations,"_ Fu said. _"It was a mistake on my part."_

"Then how did...?" Marinette began.

 _"As I said before, Marinette, you weren't afraid to go public with it. The reason the curse had been in effect for so many generations is because those afflicted were afraid, so they hid it from the masses,"_ Fu explained. _"One thing about love is that people should not be afraid to be open about it. You weren't afraid to declare your love for Luka even though everyone else was condemning him. And that's what lifted the curse."_

"You mean I'm... I'm free?" Luka asked.

 _"Yes, Luka. You and your future descendants are free from this plight, and it's all thanks to Marinette,"_ Fu stated as he began to fade away. _"God bless the two of you."_

Marinette turned to Luka, who smiled at her and brought her into his arms.

"You broke my curse, Marinette," Luka said. "Thank you..."

"Oh, Luka..." Marinette said with a sigh. Luka kissed her lips again, and everyone was cheering and whooping in delight for their princess and her future husband.

"Sabrina. Chloé." Tom sternly said as he and Sabine approached the daughters.

"Oh, um... Daddy..." Chloé sheepishly said.

"Guards, take these two to the dungeon. We'll have them tried for attempted regicide, and they are now stripped of their titles." Tom stated.

"What?!" Chloé shouted as the guards grabbed her and Sabrina by the arms and then dragged them out of the ballroom.

Chloé was throwing a fit, but Sabrina took the punishment without any problems.

Luka and Marinette continued to cuddle with each other and were not afraid to show their affection for one another in front of everyone. In fact, people delighted in it.

Luka dove in for another kiss and Marinette accepted it with full vigor. It was pure bliss.

* * *

Within a few months of the party, Marinette and Luka were in the church, holding hands with each other while the preacher was officiating the wedding. Marinette was in a pure white gown while Luka was wearing the same outfit Marinette had made for him. He insisted on wearing it because the fact that she gave it to him even after she found out about his curse, she did not turn her back on him. And for him, that meant the world.

In the pews, Tom and Sabine were sitting in the front row and crying tears of joy at the ceremony. Alya was sitting next to Tom while her date to the event, Nino - the same musician from the engagement party - was sitting next to her. Juleka and Rose were also in that same seating area, both of whom were delighted to see Luka getting married. Juleka could not ask for a better person to marry her brother than Marinette.

On the other side of the aisle, Chloé and Sabrina were there too. But they were being flanked by the top guards, they were wearing prisoners' clothing, their hair was a complete mess, and their hands were in cuffs and chains. They were both glaring at the ceremony with hatred and anger towards Marinette.

Marinette was completely focused on her groom as the preacher continued on with the ceremony. The rings were brought out on a silk pillow and Luka and Marinette each took one.

Luka held Marinette's hand into his own as he slipped the wedding band on to her finger. Marinette held back happy tears as she put a ring on Luka's finger. The two of them held hands.

"Prince Luka, do you take Princess Marinette to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?" The preacher asked.

"I do." Luka said, his eyes never leaving Marinette's.

"And Princess Marinette, do you take Prince Luka to be your lawfully wedding husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?" The officiant asked the princess.

"I do." Marinette said, her eyes still bearing into Luka's.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife!" The officiant said.

Once it was made official, Luka swept Marinette up into his arms and dipped her down as he landed a smooch on her lips. Marinette hung on to his neck as she kissed back. Everyone was cheering for their princess.

The second Luka pulled Marinette back up, she held up her bouquet. She smiled and tossed it behind her. Many of the single women in the crowd were reaching up and screaming for the bouquet, but it landed in Alya's hands.

Alya's face grew into a smile and then she gave a sly grin and an eyelash flutter to Nino, who was blushing intensely at what the events were implying.

Luka took Marinette's hand and they started running down the aisle in joy. People were either throwing flower petals at the newlyweds or applauding for them.

Outside the church, Luka brought Marinette to the horse-drawn carriage that would take them on their honeymoon. Luka opened the door and let Marinette step in before he followed after her. Once they were inside, the carriage started to roll away, and they were finally alone for a little bit.

Marinette laid her head against Luka's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her other one.

"This is nice," Marinette said, content. "Our first moments alone as a married couple."

"I know what you mean," Luka said before leaning in closer and moving his lips closer to Marinette's ear. "But I hope there will be more... _intimate_ moments between us later tonight."

Marinette blushed as she looked to her husband and she said, "Oh, I'm sure there will be."

"I love you, Marinette." Luka said.

"I love you too, Luka." Marinette replied with a smile.

Luka took the opportunity and he smacked his lips against Marinette's, taking them into his own. The two of them moaned in pleasure as they continued their kiss. Marinette wrapped her arms around Luka's neck while he hugged her by her waist. They began rocking back and forth, continuing to kiss and cuddle.

The two of them were already thinking about all of the fun they would have during their wedding night...

* * *

 **And that's the end of the story! I can't wait for more canon Lukanette interactions in the future for the show! By the way, I took inspiration from the final chapter of a manga called "Tokage Ouji" (which means "Lizard Prince") for breaking Luka's curse.**

 **And there's been some spoiler images out and there's speculation that Luka will get the Snake Miraculous! Now, I know a lot of people might think this is fitting since they consider Luka to be a snake because he's messing up the love square, but here's the thing: in some cultures, snakes are very much _worshiped_ _and respected_. Considering how friendly Sass was in "Sandboy," and how he's the de-facto leader of the kwamis, I think seeing Luka as the holder of the Snake Miraculous is going to be awesome!**

 **If you want more Lukanette, don't hesitate to ask in a review or PM! See you next time!**


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